The primary goal of any business is simple: increase income. This can be achieved in different ways; for example, you can develop your own website or mobile app.
One of the most important indicators of a company’s success online is the Customer Retention ratio. It testifies the demand for the offered product among customers. Let’s look at how we can increase retention.
What is customer retention?
High traffic and good conversions are undoubtedly important metrics. They show that people are curious about the product offered and are willing to make their first purchase.
But what happens after that? Does the company manage to keep the client and not let them wander off to the competitors? Customer retention describes how many people stayed with the brand after their first purchase.
Experts believe that a business that doesn’t rely on customer retention is like a bucket full of holes. No matter how much water you pour into it, it will never stay inside, like customers making their first purchase and disappearing without a trace. The owners of the company are faced with the question of what to do – should they constantly pour water in and look for new customers? Or do they patch the holes and keep what they have. Research shows that attracting new customers is much more expensive than retaining existing ones.
Ways to increase customer retention
Achieving maximum results with minimal losses is the main task of designers. Therefore, the customer retention rate is very important to assess the efficiency of their work. The higher it is, the greater their profits will be.
The rate can be calculated using special formulas. They show how many customers remained with the company for a certain period of time (week, month, year). Customer retention is sometimes referred to as a “symbol of brand loyalty”.
Have a look at the working methods that help raise the indicator and increase the success of a business.
Attract attention
People love to be listened to and treated well. Here are some tips from top UX design firms:
- Study the target audience – You need to define the target audience, understand the moods, aspirations, expectations, and hopes of the people, and find out what they want to solve by purchasing a product. To “hook” customers, you need to rely on their needs. Then advertising will “hit” the target, influencing the deepest desires of people.
- Provide clear benefits – It is important to show how the life of customers will change for the better if they constantly use a product, application, or service. The best approach is to show how they lived before and how they will live after using it.
- Positive feedback – Real reviews play a big role in the perception of the product. The more positive characteristics there are, the higher the trust in the company. A careful selection of positive reviews contributes to brand promotion and customer retention.
- Use “magical” and encouraging words, such as “free”, “instant”, “inexpensive”, “new”.
- Share useful information – Tips, webinars, and newsletters covering the right topics give customers the feeling that they are remembered, cared for, and appreciated.
Service quality
No matter how great the product is, people who buy it will not come back if they are not satisfied with the service. Marketing research has shown that courtesy and the staff’s willingness to help are more important to users than the speed of request processing.
Installing a voice robot will help improve the quality of service and create a permanent support service. This will remove the negativity and show that the company really cares about its consumers.
The creation of a single claims processing center has proven itself very well. It is important that any specialist can instantly connect to the client and solve his problem. People feel they are not left to fend for themselves if they have feedback from the company.
Even a great service will not cope with the flow of customer dissatisfaction if they find a defect in the product. The most vivid attention should be paid to the quality of the offered goods and services in order to increase customer retention and keep consumers coming back.
Loyalty programs
Small, pleasant surprises do not just help to “hook” and motivate the clients to come back. Satisfied people will advertise the brand. Word of mouth is essential to attracting new visitors and converting them to customers. Experts give the following recommendations:
- People like discounts, no matter how small they are. Psychologist Norbert Schwartz found that users respond positively to an amount of 10 cents or more. The main thing is to properly advertise the action.
- It is good to have something to compare with. Platinum and gold cards work when there are silver ones. VIP status is important for people if they see that there are customers of lower rank. Use this mentality in your designs.
- Fast impact. A loyalty card will be effective if the customer can use it immediately after receiving it.
Conclusion
Customer retention can be increased in a number of ways. There are no universal recommendations, except for one: the UX/UI designer and other members of the team should be sensitive and attentive to clients and work to understand their hopes, desires, and expectations.
