It’s always exciting when you see growth in your business, but some companies focus their effort on acquiring customers instead of retaining them, which at the end of the day, could be your downfall.
Data from Signalmind shows that it’s almost seven times more expensive for businesses to find new customers instead of focusing on retaining existing ones. With this in mind, it makes sense to keep hold of the clients you have, especially in the current uncertain business climate.
Why is customer retention important?
Customer retention is important to any organisation that wants to measure its success with their customers. Satisfying existing customers can improve customer loyalty and spread awareness of the business through word-of-mouth marketing, improving customer retention and increasing the business's profitability.
Customer retention strategies to follow
Working in telecoms and communications, customer retention is pivotal. Here are some of the strategies you can use to improve your customer and client retention.
Strong Customer Service
Consistently providing great customer service is no easy task, but it is worth the effort in hope of retaining your customer base. According to the PWC statistics, it only takes one bad experience to drive 32% of your customers away. Some stats even showed that a staggering 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a good customer service experience. With this in mind, how can you improve your customer service to appease customers?
First, think about your current support – is their customer contact number available 24/7? If not, do you have a way for customers to leave a message and get a follow-up response, an example of this would be an email form that customers could contact. Once you understand how you're currently performing against the necessary support your customers need, you can then prioritise areas to improve.
When a customer calls, being able to automatically direct them to the department they have their query with can minimise mistakes from employees, Investing in a virtual assistant can help your customer with their enquiries instantly.
Responding to Complaints
Esteban Kolsky found 72% of customers will go on to share a positive customer service experience with six or more people, but if they're not happy, roughly 13% of them will share a negative experience with 15 or more people. Word of mouth is important.
As a business, it is not always possible to please everyone, but the way you handle their complaints and problems will determine what experience they have with you, making your response the deciding point of their loyalty.
Not only is it beneficial for them, it can also help you find holes in your services that you may need to address.
Communication
Communicating with your clients or customers is a key part of building a relationship with the aim of improving customer retention.
Using top-quality virtual phone numbers, or a freephone number is an example of the communication process improved.
There is nothing worse than trying to talk to an operator over a bad phone line and not being able to understand what is being said, this could lead to frustration and can affect customer retention.
A simple fix would be to use a Virtual Landline, you can get a memorable 0800 number to make phoning your company more inviting, as well as using the VoIP app to ensure you get a top-quality connection on both inbound and outbound calls.
An additional benefit of using a Virtual Landline is that you will never miss a customer's request again, by using the voicemail-to-email feature. This allows every customer enquiry to be sent directly to an email address of your choice, making it more accessible and convenient for your employees.
Read more about Virtual Landline's benefits today.
Fast Customer Responses
Any size business can benefit from word of mouth and good recommendations. They can be simple to get, but you must listen to what your customer is asking of you and find the right solution to keep them happy.
Ensuring a quick response to messages and business phone calls will help make customers feel supported. Trying to up-sell customers during every communication could do more harm than good to the relationship, especially if they are angry or upset from a current issue.
Contact us for help picking the right virtual number package for you.
Follow-Up
It's very important to follow up with your customers after a problem or conversation has been concluded. Around 68% of customers leave a company because they feel uncared for after they've made a complaint, this just shows that directly engaging with them positively can make all the difference.
A simple follow-up email asking for an opinion or hoping they have solved their problem could make all the difference.
This aftercare can also highlight your company's personal service, and let your customers know you care about their opinion and their loyalty. Make your customers feel valued.
Quality onboarding process
The work after obtaining a customer doesn't stop there. Creating a high-quality onboarding process can ensure that your customer is kept in the loop on all things relating to their service or order.
Imagine a person purchasing a product online and not receiving a confirmation email as soon as their money has left their bank account. This could create panic and anxiety around your business and lower customer retention.
Adding further marketing emails such as review requests weeks after the product has been delivered can be a great way to keep your business in the forefront of the client's mind.
Customer Retention with Virtual Landline
Simple steps can be taken to avoid a high customer turnover for your business, no matter how big or small, it is always important to remember that customer service is key and can make or break your success. Why not contact a Virtual Landline specialist to learn how a virtual landline will improve your business.
Transitioning from a single business phone number to a fully integrated phone system was a significant step, and Virtual Landline made the process seamless. Their platform offers a robust set of features—call routing, voicemail-to-email, multi-user support, and more—that were clearly explained and easy to implement. The onboarding process was smooth, and within just a few days, we began seeing improved efficiency and communication across the team. For any business seeking a scalable, cloud-based phone solution, Virtual Landline is a solid choice.
Kieran handled our recent transition to the new Virtual Landline call management system. The migration process of our business VoIP was smooth, and the onboarding video call to explain the system’s features and benefits was clear and informative. For anyone considering Virtual Landline as their VOIP service provider, rest assured—you’re making a reliable choice.
Virtual Landline made the setup process refreshingly simple. Their range of plans offers excellent flexibility and affordability, making it easy to find the right fit for your needs. What really stands out is the scalability of the service—it's reassuring to know that as my business grows, Virtual Landline has the features and support in place to grow alongside it. A smart choice for any business looking for reliable VOIP solutions.
Great to speak to a UK based call centre on the phone, Dan couldn't have been more helpful and friendly! Everything was explained clearly, and the switch over to Virtual Landline from my old copper landline went really smoothly. It did exactly what it promised. Really happy with how easy it all was.