Today’s businesses can be so focused on chasing new leads\nand onboarding clients that existing customers can get overlooked. While\nbusiness growth needs a pipeline of potential clients, customer retention is\nequally as important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nurturing your existing clients can be less time consuming\nthan chasing new leads because you already know that they like what you do.\nKeeping that conversation flowing should be part of your regular sales\nstrategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Gartner Group, 80% of future business revenue comes from just 20% of your existing customers and a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profitability by 75%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How a CRM system can\nhelp customer retention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Using a customer relationship management (CRM) system is one\nof the best ways to maintain the dialogue with your existing customers. You\nalready know a lot about them so using the tagging options on your CRM system,\nyou can start to group your clients according to variables such as: what they\nbought, how often they buy, how often then open your marketing emails (or\ndon\u2019t) and how much they are willing to spend with you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means you can speak to a group of customers who you\nknow are interested in your new product because they supported your last\nlaunch. Likewise, if you have a high ticket item, you can offer this first to\nthose customers who you know are more likely to make the investment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, a CRM system is only as effective as the effort you\nput into it. Linking your CRM to your website and enabling automation will save\nyou time as the information that you need to communicate to your customers is\nalready in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Use your metrics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you know a customer has bought a product that has a\nfinite lifespan, doing something as simple as sending them an email reminding\nthem to re-stock when they are due to run out is not just good business sense\nbut great service. You are letting your customer know that you are thinking\nabout them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This can apply to any product or service when you understand\nwho your customer is and what they want. Your sales metrics will give you this\ninformation; you just need to use your CRM system accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Equally, people like to feel rewarded for their loyalty. If\nyou can see that a client has been supporting your business for a long period\nof time, offer them something which you are not offering to new customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n