Ways you can convert happy customers into raving fans

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1. Calculate your retention rate

You can’t control what you don’t measure. So, start by calculating your retention rate to see what that’s telling you about your business today.

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Your retention rate is the percentage of clients that continue buying from you over a period of time. A high retention rate would indicate that you have happy clients that keep returning. A low rate might be a cause for concern.

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If you often lose clients after they only buy from you once, why is that? Perhaps there’s a common theme in the service they’re getting or the product they’re buying from you.

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If you want to create raving fans and improve your client retention you have to know where you’re starting from and have some indication about what you can do to improve.

 

2. Communicate proactively

Regular communication with your customers is very important as it shows them that you care and that you’re making a genuine effort to engage with them. There are plenty of ways you can communicate with them, such as social media posts, email marketing and newsletters. But don’t just limit communication to product or service updates. Share information about you and your team so they can get to know you and start to build a relationship with your business.

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Email and social media are efficient ways to get a message across to a large audience but don’t forget about the importance of personal communication in building relationships. Picking up the phone seems to have gone out of fashion, but a simple, quick phone call to a client can have a much greater impact for them than reading an email from you or a post you’ve written. The events of the last 18 months have also made remote working the norm but there’s still enormous value in meeting your customers face-to-face personally, at networking events and conferences. So, start getting back out there and fostering those relationships.

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Successful ongoing communication requires consistency, so develop a basic communications plan to make it easier for yourself and your team. Plan what strategies you’re going to use to communicate with your audience, how often, when and what you’re hoping to get in return.

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Do you want to learn new communication strategies that may benefit your business? Contact me here.

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3. Feedback

Ask your customers for feedback regularly. Not only does it show that you care about their experience, but it will also help you develop your products and services and ensure they’re continually improving.

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Have a process in place to collect this feedback so that you’re consistent. Will you send out feedback surveys via email three days after purchase? Or will you give them a form straight after service for them to fill in? Perhaps you may want to implement an annual client satisfaction survey?

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Ensure you respond to all feedback, to show that you’re acknowledging it and acting on it. Customers want to know they are being listened to and it will make them feel valued and indicate that you really care about their opinions and experience with your business.

 

4. Deal with any complaints or issues that occur

From time to time, things will go wrong. It’s inevitable. A delivery didn’t arrive on time, a product was faulty, a service was not up to the expected standard. When this happens, you need to make sure that you deal with the issue promptly and bring it to a swift conclusion.

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Try to deal with these issues over the phone, if you can, which clients appreciate more than a prolonged game of ‘email-tennis’. If it has to be by email then make sure the email is signed by a named person, rather than the generic ‘Customer Services Team’. When your customer feel that they are communicating with a real person they feel like they’re being heard.

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Research shows that one of the biggest sources of customer frustration and dissatisfaction comes from dealing with companies that refuse to accept responsibility for an error. Remember to apologise if you were responsible for the issue. It won’t reflect badly on you or your business; today customers place a high value on honesty and transparency. If you take the time to apologise and explain the error it will help to build trust.

 

5. Invest in your onboarding process

Customers can be impressed by the lengths you go-to to win their business – clever marketing, personal meetings to sell the service, regular emails about new products – but when they eventually become paying clients they can easily be underwhelmed by the onboarding process.

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Your onboarding process should delight your new customers and leave them excited about working together. You don’t need to overwhelm them but make them feel welcome and special from the start.

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What does your onboarding process consist of? Do you even have one? It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive, but a few relevant, well-chosen gestures can make a memorable start to a new business relationship: a welcome letter, a starter pack or even a small gift. Not only will they feel welcome as a new client but they will also feel like they are now part of a new ‘community.

 

6. Consistency

With everything you do, you must be consistent. A client only needs one bad experience to give them an excuse to look elsewhere.

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Implement systems and processes in all areas so that you can offer a consistent service with minimum effort. Set standards of performance for your staff. We assume that once we’ve trained an employee they will carry out their responsibilities in the same way and to the same standard indefinitely. But it’s not true. Standards slip over time and people get into bad habits if no one is looking closely enough. Continually train your staff in core skills and set KPIs around customer service to give them the tools and encouragement to perform their roles to a high standard, consistently.

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Make a habit of setting the client’s expectations accurately and ensure that you meet those expectations every time. If you sell them a dream when you know you don’t have the resources to fulfil it, they’re going to be disappointed.