Busting the Myths of Customer Retention

Figuring out how to keep your customers is something that has been on the minds of businesses for quite some time. Creating happy customers that want to stay loyal to your brand is much more valuable than constantly churning through new ones.

In fact, research has shown that increasing your customer retention rates by a mere 5% could see your profits increase by 25% to 95%. That’s a pretty nice return.

But customer retention strategies come with a lot of misconceptions or myths. This blog is here to help debunk these and show you that it can be a lot more straightforward than you might think.

Myth #1 – A happy customer is a loyal customer.

The customer should be at the centre of any plan or discussion we have in a business. They are essentially what keeps the business going. So keeping them as happy as possible is a high priority.

But, as much as we love to keep them happy, unfortunately it doesn’t always lead to a loyal customer. In fact, 73% of customers in the US have said that they would avail of a cheaper option elsewhere if the outcome for them is similar to what you’re providing. Of course, why wouldn’t they?

Consistent, personalised, and relevant messaging is key to keep your customer coming back to you. Providing a positive online experience for your customers with communications down the right channels is now essential for businesses.

Myth #2 – Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

You will always find that customers will look for alternatives and leave your brand. It’s not realistic to think that every single customer you gain will stay with you forever. There’s always going to be a certain level of churn. What you can do is try to keep that churn rate down.

But just because a customer leaves you doesn’t mean that it’s forever. There are always ways to win your customers back. Post cancellation campaigns for subscription based businesses are an example of how you can get your subscribers back on board with you.

If someone cancels, or becomes a dormant customer that you haven’t seen in a while, consider getting in touch with them to thank them for using your service and that you’re sorry to see them go. 

You could try to understand why they left you with a short survey and try to rectify that for the future. If you have a community set up, you can encourage them to join that so that they are still somewhat involved with your brand.

You never know, they might remember why they fell in love with you in the first place.

Myth #3 – All your customers want the same thing

Everyone is unique in their own way. This also applies to your customers. Of course, a lot of them will have similarities and share the same values, but having a “one size fits all” attitude to your customers is a recipe for failure.

At the end of the day, not every customer wants or expects the same thing from your brand. While some customers might be solely focused on your physical product, others might love the idea that they are part of a community built by your brand.

It’s up to you as a business to understand the different types of customers you have and then give them the brand experience they want. Again, a personalised experience is far more likely to keep your brand top of mind for your customers.

Myth #4 – Customer retention strategies are complex.

At the bones of it, creating and setting out your retention strategy is not as complicated as it might seem at first. You just need to understand your customer’s wants and needs, then communicate with them in the right way. 

Generally, it comes down to two things: what you say to them, and where they see it. It all comes back to providing a personalised experience for each customer at an individual level. You can really make them feel as though every interaction with your brand for them is a personal thing.

Setting up your retention campaigns can be a bit daunting at the beginning. You might find yourself unsure of what you’re doing. But when it comes to using our platform, it makes it very easy to understand your audience, put them into segments, then communicate the right messages to them through the channels that they respond to best.

Takeaways

Customer retention doesn’t have to be as complex as it is often made out to be. Understanding what’s involved and what’s untrue about it can help you develop some really great campaigns.

A lot of the time, simply just understanding your customers and interacting with them in the right way, and through the right channels, can help to keep your churn rate on the lower end of the scale.