Five Customer Retention Tactics for Small Businesses

Featured Article by Robert Cordray, Independant Technology Author

By now you’ve likely read or heard about how much it costs your business to find a customer. In addition, you’re probably well aware that it’s far less expensive to keep your current customers than it is to find new ones. Ultimately, this is why customer retention is so vitally important for small businesses; you need them to keep your business growing.

However, how do you keep more customers when competing with larger competitors, ones with larger marketing budgets and ones whose sales teams are constantly in front of customers? After all, these larger competitors are larger for a reason. They know what works and how to position their company in front of customers. In order to answer this aforementioned question, here are a couple of strategies you can employ as a small business owner in order to level the playing field without spending a lot on case management software.

1. Discounts

Take advantage of your lower overhead and make it easier for your customer to buy from you by giving them upfront discounts. After all, you’re not held back by a bunch of red-tape. You don’t have to adhere to stringent gross margin directives and or strict rules about when and how to give pricing discounts. Be proactive and give your customer an unannounced discount without them having to haggle you for one. Customers appreciate vendors who simplify their jobs and nothing says you appreciate their business like giving them an unannounced price reduction.

2. Rewards

Get your customer on a reward program where every purchase they make gives them a credit on their account. That credit can be used for future purchases or can be applied directly to their outstanding balances. These programs work in all kinds of industries and markets. There are excellent at retaining customers because they force customers to stay in constant contact with you about what your competitors are offering. If they do receive a lower price from a competitor of yours, they’ll contact you first to make sure you can match that bid and keep them on their reward plan.

3. Free Delivery

Another simple solution includes providing free delivery for those customers in and around your immediate location. This is often a service your larger competitors simply can’t offer. Take advantage of your position in your local market and offer your customers free delivery.

4. Bartering Services

Are you looking to become that trusted partner your customer calls upon in an emergency? Are you looking to position your company apart from the crowd? If so, then bartering services with your customers is a guaranteed way to position your company as a trusted resource.

Take the time to think about all the things your customers might need. Go beyond the products and services they are currently buying from you and come up with a list of issues they’re concerned with. Next, see if you or your team can help resolve those issues. Remember, managing a business is by no means easy. Many of your customers likely have the same day-to-day problems you have. Speak to them about those issues and you may find an opportunity to work together.

5. Offering “Freebies”

Companies that dominate their market are often ones that employ loss-leader marketing and pricing strategies. In this case, they identify a product all customers want and need and then they give it to them for free or at a discounted price. Of course, they can do this because the product’s profit margins are small. So, identify a product you know your customers will want and need but one you don’t mind offering at cost. It’s a great way to build customer loyalty. After all, everybody likes to be surprised.

The companies that excel at customer retention are the ones who continually put their customers first. As a small business owner, you have the opportunity to build long lasting customer relationships where you are your customers’ first and only resource. That comes from thinking outside the box and it doesn’t require that you have case management software. It simply involves you making an effort to understand what your customers want and need.