With solid customer acquisition and retention strategies, you can improve your brand’s longevity, excel in the industry, and even establish a good online reputation. Since the cost of acquiring a customer is on the rise, many companies have resolved to develop creative strategies to help retain a customer for the long-term and increase revenue. No matter how many customers you bring on board, you cannot improve sales revenue if the rate of exit is high. Therefore, customer retention is as important as customer acquisition. Happy customers are less likely to deflect and go to the competitors.
While the cost associated (overall time and resources) to acquire a customer is generally higher than that of customer retention, the two elements have a direct impact on the success of a company and need to be regarded equally. Furthermore, with the ever-growing internet space and social media outreach, small and large businesses are now more capable of reaching out to new opportunities in the market and attract potential prospects as well as retain their established customers and increase profitability. Since both elements are equally important, a company must strike a balance between customer acquisition and customer retention by establishing how much time, effort, and resources to invest in each, in order to improve profitability. Below are killer strategies for customer acquisition and retention to help you reach your goals.
Customer Acquisition Strategies
1.Research Current Market Situations Affecting Business and Prospects
When equipped with information, a company’s management can make sound decisions in the best interest of the organization. You can also be able to determine a problem facing your prospects and design a solution that will put your business ahead of the game.
2. Create an “ideal customer” profile
You must know who your ideal customers are so that you can narrow down your search to target the right market. If you are not sure of what you are looking for, it becomes difficult to know when you have found it. Furthermore, knowing what to look for helps you avoid spending more time and effort on people who will not convert or do not need your product and service. After you have identified where your potential customers are, you can then come up with a plan on how to reach and market to them
3. Define the Specific Product/ Service that your Potential Customers are seeking
4. Apply a Multi-channel Approach to Reach Customers
When you develop a multi-channel approach, it becomes easier to reach your audience to communicate your message and promote your product or service. It will also allow you to let your prospects know who you are and the value you are bringing to the table.
5. Make Use of Referrals
Take advantage of the fact that you already have established clients that you can ask for referrals. It is easier to engage potential clients you’ve acquired through referrals because even if they don’t trust you, they do trust the person who has connected you. You can offer your established clients incentives and rewards to encourage them to bring in more potential customers.
6. Leverage on Social Media Platforms
Take advantage of widgets and tools that promote sharing of content. Encourage your current customers to share your content and Tweet about your brand, exposing them to various updates and newsfeed. In return, this will expose your brand to a wider network, as you can leverage on their network and social circles.
Customer Retention Strategies
The health of a SaaS business majorly depends on its customer acquisition and retention ability. This means ensuring that customers get the promised benefits they signed up for.
1.Talk to Your Customers
Once you have successfully managed to hook a customer, you can’t just ignore him or forget about her. Most companies only talk to their customers on two occasions: when they want to upsell, or when the customer is experiencing a problem and wants to talk to the company. While this maybe optimal for customers who want to be left alone, you can gather feedback using customer satisfaction surveys. Avail yourself and answer questions via social media, or send them an email announcing new features and ask them to provide feedback if they are willing.
2. Provide a “Suggestion Box” on your site for Purposes of Customer Feedback
Provide an area on your site to enable your customers provide feedback about their experience with a product, service, feature request, site functionality, or your company and its staff in general. Give them an opportunity to voice their concerns.
3. Promptly React to Concerns or Issues
Acknowledge positive feedback or compliments and quickly respond to issues by letting your customers know you have their problems on your desk, and plan to do something to improve their experience.
4. Meet and Exceed the Needs and Expectations of Current Customers
Nurture your current clients by ensuring that their needs are met; you can even exceed expectations where possible.
5. Actively Collect Information on Customers
Throughout your relationship with customers, collect information on them by requesting periodic – quarterly or semi-annual – surveys on their experience just to gauge how they are faring on.
6. Take Advantage of Customer Loyalty Programs
Initiate customer loyalty programs; improve customer support resources as well as processes to ensure your customers stick around for the long-term.
7. Request an “Exit Interview” when a Customer Leaves
Don’t just allow customers to just terminate their contract, ask them why they are leaving so that you can gain an understanding of what is causing them to exit, allowing you to improve on areas of weakness.
Conclusion
In summary, customer retention is as important as customer acquisition. Depending on the specific needs you wish to satisfy, your company may want to consider an effective Customer Relationship Management solution to help your business navigate through the rough sea of prospects, and to pinpoint the right customers to bring on board and retain them for the future. The key to business success is by establishing customer needs and providing solutions that meet those needs. Happy customers are less likely to leave. Regardless of the size of your SaaS business, solid acquisition and retention strategies are crucial to the success of your business.
