The amount of customers in a company’s lifetime will never be as important as the company’s lifetime customers. These lifetime customers will buy from you until the end of their life or the life of your business. Your company’s competitive edge will determine its ability to retain customers.
Before you can retain customers, you need a constant flow of customers. This constant customer flow is probable when your business has product / service quality, competitive pricing, and a unique service experience.
Companies who invest in these three areas are likely to succeed in business. While every customer will not convert to a lifetime customer, this strategy is ideal to retain customers.
As you increase your lifetime customer base, your company will save on marketing costs. The sales team will not have to spend as much money on sales outreach and maintenance.
Philip Kotler, a marketing professor, says:
“Conquering new customer costs five to seven times more than maintaining a current one.”
If you can offer more courtesies to frequent customers, most customers will be loyal to you for a long time. With a loyalty program, you can offer exclusive coupons and discounts, customized offerings, among other possibilities.
Each company has its company culture, which consists of a set of values and practices shared by all employees. If your goal is exceptional customer service, creating a culture of excellence will be ideal to achieve this goal.
Meet with your team every week to discuss their successes and challenges. Each week, they will improve their preparation to have better customer interactions.
CRM software is one of the best tools to keep in touch with the customer. You can send a Christmas card or wish them a happy birthday. These are thoughtful ways to make customers remember your company.
You can use this software to create database with information about customers, including their purchase history. This information can provide you with more opportunities to be helpful to them.
In addition, a customer success team is a great start to serve your customer throughout the service utilization journey.
Finally, listen and respond to your customers. Your lack of attention can cause customers to write negative comments about your brand on social media.
Many people define customer loyalty when customers buy specific brands. Conversely, other people say customer loyalty is not always in the amount of purchases, but how people advocate for a certain brand to others.
We agree with the latter theory. It is these advocates that will create a positive sentiment on the company’s brand to maximize lifetime customers.