Knowledge

CUSTOMER RETENTION

Learning how to increase client engagement and build customer retention is a vital skill that all organisations should master. How client feedback data gets interpreted is different for everyone. Whatever the case, we must learn to create a customer experience based on real client feedback that provides continuous value for your customers. If you want your company’s business or organisation to grow, then you need to create growth for your clients’ business first. You can’t expect them to engage if they don’t see the business results they expect. Making sure your customer are engaged is the #1 way to increasing client retention.

I know, servicing clients is not as sexy as new logos but finding growth in your current customer base should not be overlooked. New clients offer growth potential, but they also incur hefty sales, marketing, and onboarding expenses. According to KISSmetrics, organisations tend to focus more on prospecting even though acquiring new customers can be 7x costlier. We’re not saying to abandon client acquisition altogether, but your current customers deserve the same level of investment.

Getting your customer base to continually re-invest and buy more product is essential for growth and profitability. Take a moment to assess how these 5 customer retention stats can give you a greater understanding of the value client engagement delivers. After all, where would we be without our customers?

5 Customer Retention Stats:

1. What Happens When You Increase Customer Retention By 5%?

Salesforce reminds us, increasing customer retention rate by 5% can accelerate profits by nearly 125%; in turn, this drives capital growth for shareholders.

2. By 2020, Customers Will Mostly Manage Their Own Relationships

According to Gartner, by 2020 customers will manage 85% of their enterprise without interacting with a human. With that statistic, it’s probably a good time to start assessing the value you deliver your customers and proactively put programs in place to help you measure engagement.

3. The 80/20 Rule

Gartner once explained 80% of our potential business would come from 20% of our present customers. If you haven’t figured out the math, it’s worth discovering the value every single customer can offer. If your business has the 80/20 rule make sure you have a different set of programs in place to deal with varying client engagement levels.

4. CEOs Believe Their Stuff Is The Best And They Are Wrong

Bain & Company found that 80% of CEOs thought their organisation offers a terrific customer experience, but only 8% of their customers would agree. So, you probably shouldn’t go with your gut feeling on how customers feel about you. Ask them.

5. Fact! Customers Hardly Ever Voice Their Complaints

According to Ruby Newell-Legner, businesses only hear back from 4% of their customers when their dissatisfied. This tells us 96% of customers never express their complaints. So, if you hear most of your customers use the “F-word” when you ask them how they’re feeling, perhaps they’re not “fine.”