So I’m sitting at my desk enjoying a nice latte from the Starbucks Corporation and my mind starts to drift off to different customer retention strategies my clients have been using email for.
It seems kind of self-evident that you can use email to cement your customer relationships but you would be simply amazed that none of these simple, effective retention strategies are being used.
Here’s what you do.
1. Create a Newsletter. Now when I say newsletter I don’t mean you create a big beautiful html-heavy email template. One of my client’s best result is simply an email titled “From the CEO’s desk” Each month he sends out a quick update.
2. Create an Inner Circle. I don’t agree with the principle of treating all newsletter subscribers equally. I’ve just signed up on your list. Am I as important as your top client that generates 10% of your revenue? Keep in contact with your most important customers. They were hard to get and they are harder to keep these days.
3. Don’t Be Afraid. The biggest fear I hear from marketers is they don’t want to send an email out too often. They fear the negative impact. They don’t want to annoy anyone. Someone who is annoyed can unsubscribe quite easily. However, many studies have shown that it’s relevance more than frequency that affects your unsubscribe rate.
With these three customer retention strategies you’ll enjoy a stronger relationship with these same customers and you’ll be less likely to lose them to some competitor’s random email that happens to hit them right when they need to get some help.