3 Ways Business Owners Can Increase Customer Retention Online

Whether your business thrives on building relationships in-person or is completely virtual, leveraging various online tools can be a great way to get in front of your customer base and foster connections, encourage purchases, and stay top of mind. Following are three ways business owners can increase customer retention online.

Implement a loyalty program

Loyalty programs are a great way to incentivize your customers to choose your business over a competitor. These programs are designed around offering rewards or discounts to customers who make frequent purchases with your business and are typically built on a points-based system. However you decide to set up your loyalty program, the goal is to encourage customers to make multiple purchases working toward some sort of reward. Loyalty points could result in a free product or a discount. Using gamification tactics, you can get customers motivated by designing tiers or levels of achievement they can build up to. Common tiers are ‘Silver, Gold, Platinum,’ but get creative with tier titles based on your business type.

Personalize when possible

The more you can connect with your customers and make them feel valued by your business, the more likely they’ll keep coming back. Consider ways your business can personalize various touch points with your customers. From personalizing email communication with first names and relevant offers based on previous purchases to handwritten thank-you notes and birthday e-cards, you can delight your customers with considerate personal touches.

Engage on social media

As the marketplace shifts to a digital landscape, many customers often research, connect, or contact businesses now through social media. Businesses can leverage their social media presence to help engage and retain their customer base by being active, transparent, and responsive. Social media is a great opportunity to offer helpful resources for your customers that address their pain points, questions, or interests. This reinforces your brand and positions you as a sought-after thought leader. Prioritizing customer support on social media is another way to interact with your customers, hear them out, and engage with them online, in real-time. The more active you are on social media, the more likely your customers will be active as well. Utilize engagement tools, such as the Poll, Quiz, or Emoji Slider feature on Instagram Stories to give your customers fun ways to interact with your business.

Helping businesses thrive

While these steps may seem like a large commitment of time and resources, taking the time to optimize these tools for customer retention is worth the effort in the long run. For more information on how PlainsCapital Bank can help support your business, speak with a PlainsCapital Bank representative today at 866.762.8392.