Four Ways CRM Helps Improve Customer Retention

Four Ways CRM Helps Improve Customer Retention

Although customer acquisition is a key focus factor for businesses, customer retention isn’t something to be ignored or taken lightly. A myriad of studies and statistics demonstrate just how important it is to retain the customers you have.

Acquiring new customers is just the beginning; keeping them helps ensure long-term success. Bain & Company and the Harvard Business School found that just a 5% increase in customer retention could increase profits by up to 95%. In reality, this number could be even higher, considering there isn’t always a surefire way to determine the value of existing customers and their word-of-mouth recommendations, or the recommendations that spawn from other recommendations. Without even realizing, your customers can easily become brand ambassadors and perpetrate a cycle of referrals.

Retaining customers isn’t always easy, and the level of difficult largely depends on the industry and what you’re offering. However, it’s always possible if done right. Customer relationship management software, or CRM, makes customer retention much easier. The features of CRM software are built specifically to help your business build long-lasting relationships with your customers. Here’s how:

Customer Database

The more you know about your customers, the better you’re able to make smarter business decisions. With CRM, you have a comprehensive customer database that houses a slew of information, and there’s so much you can do with it. With this database, you’re able to segment your customers and predict future purchasing patterns. Segment your customers based on age, education level, occupation, and many other factors. This way, you might discover that college students are your primary customers, and fix your marketing strategy to reflect those findings. You can use an integrated platform like Intercom to employ a variety of marketing, sales and support strategies.

Email Marketing

The features of CRM software allow you to track the buying behavior of your customers and deliver more personalized marketing materials. Though email is the most popular medium to deliver messages to your audience, you still have a very small window of time to attract their attention, and the more relevant the messaging, the more likely it will connect.

Email marketing is all about shaping communication. You can now address each customer specifically — long gone are the days of “Dear Customer.” With insight into customer preferences, there are much more possibilities. If you notice a customer consistently purchases educational items with a specific character or brand, this is something you can use to promote the right products. This works very well for promotional purposes, but also helps you keep your customers informed about company happenings or new arrivals.

Cater To The VIP

There is no better way to identify and cater to your VIP customers than with CRM. Your high-value customers deserve to be recognized and/or rewarded for their loyalty, and this can be achieved through effective customer relationship management. By filtering customers based on spend or the purchase of certain high-end products, you can show big spenders your appreciation. In the best case scenario, this will also help attract similar customers.

Consistent Customer Service

A recent study conducted by STELLAService found that just 54% of companies answered customer emails completely. This negatively affects the customer service experience, and studies have shown 68% of consumers will stop interacting with a brand if they feel their business isn’t valued. There are many ways CRM helps improve customer service. It allows you to connect with and manage interactions across a variety of all channels within the software.

If your FAQ is connected to the CRM, customers can easily submit support tickets that are funneled through the CRM for easy management. Representatives can solve cases via phone, email, and even social media — all in one place. This ensures that no ticket slips beneath the radar, and that every customer received the proper attention. It also helps you monitor how effective your customer service is and make improvements on a rolling basis.