Whether you’re a start-up or a well-established brand, the growth challenge never goes away. You have the threat of new competitors, industry trends and changing customer needs.

In the time we’ve spent running a growth marketing agency in York, we’ve learned a few key lessons. One is that too many businesses make the mistake of focusing on acquisition, rather than retention.

Why should we focus on retention?

Far beyond improving relationships and your reputation, retention comes down to the numbers. This sobering statistic alone should be enough to convince you: it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one.

On a more positive note, just a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to up to 95% higher profits. It’s why we see it on the marketing funnel – the process doesn’t stop at conversion, but loyalty and advocacy.

How can we retain more customers?

Think about what led your customer to their first sale. Did you go above and beyond to provide the best service? Does your website provide a streamlined purchase process? Do you offer a superior product?

Once you’ve taken that key step in the funnel, you’ve established trust. The key is to strike a delicate balance between keeping the customer happy and over-promoting.

Account-based marketing

This is ideal for ‘relationship marketing’ in B2B, allowing key contacts to have a communication stream with your sales team. Perhaps you sold 100 reams of paper to a buyer for a new client. Look at data from other customers to identify how often they re-order, and approach them personally.

Respond to customer behaviours

Once you have enough data, you can create customer segments – for example, young adult gymgoers who stock up on supplements every pay day. Here you can send personalised campaigns encouraging them to purchase the same product. You could also use these to cross-sell other products based on that customer need, for example with Facebook ads, email campaigns or push notifications.

Try remarketing ads

Ideal for sectors such as fashion and retail, remarketing ads use tracking cookies to identify what customers have purchased previously. Ads for similar products then appear on third-party websites or in social media advertising, like Facebook and Instagram.

Don’t tag your products based on attributes like clothing material. Otherwise, you’ll be marketing a denim jacket to somebody who bought denim jeans! Instead, tag them based on style/occasion to offer your customer natural pairings.

Create tailored promotions

Customer sign-ups are a goldmine for data acquisition. We can use this ethically by creating personalised promotions, for example, a unique birthday discount code. This serves as a gentle reminder that you exist, and offers greater incentive to spend.

You can also be more ‘personal’ by responding to online reviews and offering feedback on social media. If customers feel they have a human connection, they will re-engage.

Take customer loyalty to the next level

For more tips on remarketing, Facebook ads or personalisation, get your free consultation.