Customer relationships are your most valuable assets. As a fundamental part of your customer strategy, it literally pays for you to focus on customer retention. Recent studies show a 5% increase in customer retention can result in a 25% or higher increase in profit. Not only are happy customers more likely to spend more over the lifetime of their relationship with you, but they’ll also be a source of valuable referrals of potential new customers.
Kickstart your customer retention strategy with this simple Checklist:
Customer retention begins with the first interaction a customer has with your technician and office staff. By creating a plan and involving everyone on the team, you build ownership and buy-in across the company.
Whether outreach is based on service dates, service calls, or seasonal expectations, building a regular schedule of personalized communications to current customers gives you the chance to hear real-time feedback, which strengthens your relationship.
Utilize technology like AutoPay, SMS and email messages, and online customer portals to make it easy to initiate, schedule, pay and comment on services. Providing convenience for your customers improves the customer experience and increases retention.
One of the easiest ways to build trust with customers is to go above and beyond what is expected. Whether it’s finding time for a lastminute appointment, or responding to a pest emergency quickly, going above and beyond builds relationships that last.
Thank customers for their feedback, for their business, for their time, and even for their complaints. The top reason customers switch service providers is feeling unappreciated by the company.
Anticipate Customer Needs
Reference detailed customer history and service notes to anticipate customer needs. This proactive approach can eliminate problems before they occur and build customer loyalty.
Take Complaints Seriously
Listen to your customers and allow them to explain the issue. Be nice. Treat them as you would like to be treated. Apologize and carefully work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Make sure you’re easy to reach and very responsive to customer questions. Keep your customer service number front and center on your website.
Give Your Customers A Voice
Offer simple customer service surveys and act on the results. Find out what’s important to your repeat customers and what they’d like to see improved. This proactive approach enables you to see how your service is performing in relation to customer expectations.
Keep your blog and/or social media pages active and respond to customer comments you receive. Take the time to respond to customer comments or complaints on digital review sites like Yelp, too.
Above all else, remember that it costs far more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one. An investment in happy customers is an investment in your field service company’s profitable growth.
