MARKETPLACE STRATEGIST: CUSTOMER RETENTION STRATEGIES

Copyright © 2014, Marketplace Strategist. All rights reserved.

Well, it’s another time in history when we celebrate the most esteemed individuals that gave business brand the platform to keep been in business. Its 2014 CUSTOMER SERVICE WEEK tagged “say yes to excellence”. If there is one thing that makes me keep patronizing any firm or enterprise I think it is due to the special way that render their services and how my problem was been solved by the brand. We all want to feel important and no one will want an exception to that, I want to pay for a services and at same time be treated specially because my payment is worth it and I’m one of the reason why the business is created. Customers! The very reason why you’re still in that business, so if you desire to retain them then be ready to treat them in a unique and special way that they keep patronizing your brand.

Every potential service provider or enterprise by default must be willing to serve prospect customers by solving their problems, this I need emphasize that it must not be handled with levity if truly the brand desire to retain them on the long run. A business rendered on premise of a conducive customer care and relation services thrive well and create lasting impressions on her clients.

The difference between a small, medium or large scale enterprise is the worth of customers such business brand possess coupled with how their problem are been solved par time, and as such a customer has the power to change fortune of any enterprise. Ever heard of this slogan? Customers are key, even though they at certain point might not be right or naughty. Do you really get the idea of what I’m pointing here? Visit fast food eateries or restaurant, banks, shopping mall and you won’t be far from what I’m pointing here. Those guys never consider your physique, size of your purchasing power – money but treat you a prospect in the way they handle you right from the first contact – service men/lady at the gate.

HERE ARE 5 STRATEGIES THAT KEEPS YOUR BRAND RETAINED BY CUSTOMERS/CLIENTS:

1. Always define the reason why you are in business or that enterprise because the more you define it the more you begin analyzing if it still meets up with the basic requirement of the enterprise mission, vision and principle.

2. Perform routine maintenance often time to check your approach on how the firm is being run, either it correlates with the core values that your business brand need maintain overtime so as to keep staying in the business world.

3. Give room for feedback from your esteemed and prospective clients, and it must be used as a model to reframe those salient aspects of the business that needs amendment or correction. At this point, you must be careful so that you don’t run-off your business based on what your customer says. Let it be that the customer’s feedbacks are realistic and weigh it by checking it objectively without any iota of sentiment attached to it and quickly respond to it by correcting in a fast track measures.

4. Profiling your customers base should be employed, this will help segment where each of them belong which is capable of providing the services that best suit them. Hence, profiling will help you know the high valued customer and somehow low valued customer. One mistake that must not be made here is giving more preferential treatment to high valued customer while ignoring others because they have potential in becoming a high valued customer come one day. Professionalism will help you maintained the ties while giving high valued customer good service and at same time others are equally receiving same though it might not be in same measure with high valued clients. PLEASE don’t let it be obvious to those not in the high valued segment your preferential treatment to them, tactically deal with the gap that may create. In the word of John D. Rockefeller: “the ability to deal with people is as purchaseable a commodity as sugar or coffee. And I will pay more for that ability, than for any other under the sun.”

5. Use words in a professional way to psych your customer even though you might not mean it, a play of word in conveying their emotions will go a long way in retaining them. Customer care specialist or professionals call it ‘customer centric or feeler phrase’. Maintain a dialogue tone not monologue in the communication flow between your brand or enterprise and your customer. Ensure you engage them in a meaningful conversation even beyond post-sales point, by so doing you are showing empathy. Don’t overpromise and under delivered, as a matter under-promise and over-deliver your promise in real quick time.

Once again I wish You HAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE WEEK!!!