Attracting new customers and growing your audience are vitally important marketing goals for any business, but as any marketer or business manager will know, acquiring new customers is incredibly hard work, and it’s expensive! The truth is, if you want your business to experience healthy and sustainable growth, customer retention is the key to success.

An eye-opening report from Toptal claims that by focusing on customer retention, businesses can increase their revenues by 80%, reduce their customer acquisition costs by 30%, and boost their total customers by 1.5x in just a 12-24 month period. Another industry-famous paper from Fred Relchheld of Bain & Company estimates that increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase total revenues anywhere from 25-95%. With numbers like that, it’s a wonder that more businesses don’t prioritize retention-focused strategies!

As this article from Hubspot explains, higher revenues are just the beginning of what maintaining long-time customer relationships can do for your company. As it turns out, loyal customers spend more per visit than new customers, and they shop with you more often too. They are also more likely to refer your company to others!

So, what kinds of changes can you make at your business to make sure that your current customers remain satisfied, engaged, and excited about your products or services? Hubspot’s released a full list of tips and tricks for you, and here are some of our favorites.

Engage in Meaningful Communications

It’s important to create a connection that feels personal. In addition to your regular business transactions and sale flyers, consider sending personal updates from your CEO, newsletters about your latest activities in the community, or creating blog posts with tips and advice for your audience. You can also send or give out thoughtful branded gifts when customers come into your store or shop online. These kinds of communications bring humanity into your customer relationships, making them more memorable and meaningful!

Incorporate Feedback Regularly

In today’s world, consumers are keen to take to the internet to share their customer experiences. It’s incredibly valuable to keep up with your reviews–whether that is through Trustpilot, Google, or social media listening. Customers will feel heard and valued if you take the time not only to acknowledge their comments but implement meaningful changes to help improve your product or service to better serve them. These are the kinds of things that build trust and loyalty better than anything else.

Incorporate a Customer Loyalty Program

As Hubspot explains, using a loyalty program is an additional way to offer value to your customers. There are so many reasons why loyalty programs are such a valuable tool when it comes to customer retention. For one, the positive feeling of receiving a form of gift or recognition for your loyalty can provide a convincing reason to maintain your relationship with that company. When you’re setting up a loyalty program, make sure to incorporate a wide variety of rewards from branded products to experiences to discounts, or high-value items.

We hope this short article has got you thinking about how you can harness the power of strong customer relationships to strengthen your business. Check out any of the linked articles in this post to learn more about the value of prioritizing customer retention!