No successful business has ever said, “I don’t need help retaining clients.” The best and brightest strive to see what else they can do to increase customer satisfaction, garner new clients, and improve customer retention. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of client retention ideas or ways to spice them up.

From gestures as simple and sweet as delivering a birthday cake to something less simple, such as transparency about mistakes, there’s no shortage of methods to retain clients. Keep reading to find inspiration on how to utilize new methods for keeping customers coming back to your business again and again.

What Is Client Retention?

The answer feels simple – client retention is the simple act of keeping your customers coming back. But if we dive deeper it isn’t just ANY act that will keep your clients. It’s the successful actions that will encourage word-of-mouth advertising.

Take, for example, a business that is the only local option for something. Customers keep coming back, making the owners feel as though they are doing enough. However, once competition steps in, they could be in for a rude awakening.

In an ever-expanding digital market, where just about everything can be done online, from working to learning how to ship a cake anywhere in the world, competition can crop up at any time. If you aren’t working to keep customers engaged, happy, and focused on the perks of your business above others, you could lose them in a snap.

How to Measure Customer Retention

Before diving into client retention ideas, one must first know how to measure such a statistic. The formula for figuring it out is rather simple. Calculating your Customer Retention Rate (or CRR) is done by taking the number of customers at the end of a given period, subtracting the number of new customers acquired during that period, and dividing by the number of customers at the start. Which is then multiplied by 100 for a whole number. The formula looks something like this:

CRR = (Customers at End of Period – New Customers / Customers at Start of Period) x 100

A good CRM manager often includes a dashboard that will help you figure out such metrics.

Creative Customer Retention Ideas

As mentioned earlier, client retention strategies are nearly endless. Additionally, they aren’t one size fits all; some may be more practical for your business than others. Don’t be afraid to mix and match and try new things until your CRR is where you’d like it.

Personalized Thank You Notes

Probably the easiest and most overlooked of any methods to retain clients is a simple note. The power of a thank you note shouldn’t be underestimated. Whether you choose to email it, text it, or post it on social media, a thank you goes a long way toward customers feeling appreciated and satisfied. A handwritten note, or a note attached to a small gift, is particularly useful.

Remember Birthdays

Another customer retention strategy is to remember birthdays. This can be done in a lot of different ways. Most popular among them is emailing unique discounts to customers or offering small freebies on their birthdays. However, you can get more personal with corporate cakes for clients. After all, most birthday celebrations include a sweet treat (or two). This classic happy birthday gesture is ideal for long-term clients or particularly large account holders.

Organize Virtual Events

Offering your customers an inside look into your business can give them a huge sense of trust and ownership. Organize events to give current customers a unique look at upcoming projects, events, or products. Keep them engaged by sending swag, a gift card for coffee, or snacks for corporate meetings.

Invite Feedback and Implement Changes

There’s nothing more likely to ensure a customer comes back than for them to feel like their voice is heard. Take time to ask customers about the changes and improvements they would like to see in your service. Hosting virtual office hours for quick 15-minute conversations with customers offers a personalized touch point. An email survey or long-standing landing page where they can submit feedback works as well.

Go above and beyond and (with permission) publicly thank customers who have inspired changes. 

Create a Referral Program

Next, and probably most under-used on the list of client retention ideas, is a good referral program. After all, word of mouth is the absolute best advertising any business can get. Incentivize customers to tell their friends, family, and colleagues about your business with a referral program that rewards them.

Send “We Miss You” Offers

Don’t let inactive customers go quietly. Instead, target them with reactivation campaigns to regain your loyal clients. Email or text campaigns with a “We miss you” discount or special work wonders to remind clients of the value your business provides.

Final Thoughts on Client Retention Ideas

Don’t be afraid to explore and create other methods to retain your customers. After all, your business is built on your unique offerings, how you retain your clients should be too. And if you’d like a little help coordinating surprises for your clients, look no further than Cakes Overseas corporate experts! No matter if you need to send cakes to the US  or send cakes for clients to Australia we can handle it all quickly and easily with a single bulk order!

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