A good businessman knows how to take care of his customers. After all, customers are the lifeblood of a business, without them businesses would cease to exist. This is why it is important not only to find customers, but also to keep or retain them.
According to studies, acquiring new customers is very expensive. However, returning customers spend 33% more than new ones. This makes keeping customers very important especially during this coronavirus pandemic.
While customer spending is low during this time, there are still ways to keep customers coming back.
Retaining Customers During Covid-19
Here are some customer retention strategies to keep in mind.
Promote Initiatives
During times of trouble, people want to feel connected to each other including the brands and products they use. This is why it is important to promote the “why” of your company and connect with your customers using your company mission.
To build customer loyalty and support you need to show customers your commitment to your employees, clients and to charities and organizations that are joining the fight against Covid-19. This creates solidarity between you and customer and helps to strengthen your brand.
Communicate Your Value
Now is a good time to show customers that “we’re all in this together”. This is a great way to differentiate yourself against your competitors and you can use it to address a bigger concern.
Providing customers with useful information shows that you are here with them during the pandemic.
Virtual Products and Services
In order to adjust to the “new normal” because of the pandemic, you might need to realign services by offering them virtually. For example, telemedicine and video conferencing platforms have allowed many businesses to continue despite strict social distancing rules and business closures in some countries.
Think how you can shift your business from traditional selling to online selling so that you can continue to reach customers and serve them.
Create Helpful Content
The coronavirus disease is a new disease so there are still many unknowns. Aside from this, pharmaceutical companies and scientists still need to develop an effective treatment and vaccine to help combat the spread of the virus. All of this uncertainty has led to many fake news and articles related to Covid-19.
This is why it is important to impart to customers useful and relevant content that they can use in order to help win the war against the disease.
Increase Social Media Presence
While social distancing measures and business closures are easing in some parts of the world, many people are still stuck at home and glued to their phones, laptops and etc. This is why it is important to increase your social media presence. This platform is used by many people around the world not only to read the news but also to stay in touch with loved ones also in isolation.
Create engaging posts using your social media channels so that customers can see your brand on their news feed. Post 2 to 3 times a week and do not forget to answer questions and to respond to messages or requests.
Add A Personal Touch
Since many people are in isolation right now, many are lonely. Now is a good time to be a friendly face or voice even if you are far away. Don’t be afraid to reach out to customers personally. Send them a personalized card via email, call them or message them directly. Check-in on them to see how they’re doing. They will surely be glad to hear from a friendly voice during this time of uncertainty.
Incentivize Purchases
Since this pandemic, many people have lost their jobs or are having to cope with a drastic cut in their spending powers. Therefore, it is a good time to incentivize purchases with gift cards, discounts, free trials or free shipping.
These types of promotion can help drive interest in your business and entice customers to buy from your website.
Wrap-Up
It is very important to keep your customer’s needs at the forefront of this pandemic. Instead of being “business as usual”, realign your products and market strategy to reflect the current demand. When you provide long-term value to customers, you have a better chance of retaining them and maintaining a long-term relationship with them.
