Customer Retention 101

I want to use today’s blog to talk about customer retention. What happens when customers look somewhere else? Are you trying to keep your customers or are you more interested in the next big contract?

Customer retention is important. In fact, it is vital to your business regardless if you sell products or services.

To employ true customer retention practices, you first need to empower your employees. Don’t make them get the manager in order to fix simple problems. If an employee encounters a problem first then he or she should be able to start immediately rectifying the situation. Saying “ I can’t do that” or “I have to get my manager” adds fuel to the fire. Teach employees to take ownership of negative situations and let them know how much gratis or corrective tools they have.

You also need to measure retention and not satisfaction quarterly. No, these are not the same thing. Think about it. I’ve gone to McDonald’s on three occasions during my life where orders were messed up, the food wasn’t good, etc. I can’t tell you the number of occasions I’ve gone to McDonald’s and had a great experience. The company isn’t interested in my satisfaction , they are interested in my retention. I don’t let small mistakes ruin the brand for me. This scenario should be your goal when it comes to retention, not satisfaction.

Have more questions? Connect with me on Twitter via the links.

Until next time,
Twyla Garrett