How to Overcome the “Click and Save” Conundrum
Ever hear of the “switching economy?” There’s something wild going on in the world that affects us all – the changing consumers – and how consumers diligently search in the digital marketplace for the most pleasing offer from any provider.
The thinking is: “Been with someone a decade? That’s cool, but now there are dozens of others you can consider. Right here, right now. Click on.”
According to a recent study from Accenture, “More than half of consumers (56 percent) report that the number of brands they consider has increased significantly over the past 10 years, and 46 percent believe they are more likely to switch providers compared to 10 years ago.”
These figures represent the broad marketplace, not just contractors. Still, loyalty isn’t what she used to be. So, the work of customer retention is even more important. For loyal customers who buy more, buy more often and refer their friends, Sweettooth.com, an ecommerce retention service, captures customer retention in three terms:
Retention strategy – This is your plan, your big idea. Keep your customers from calling your competitor.
Retention tactic – This is how you plan to achieve your strategy. To keep your company’s name in mind, you’ve got to get in front of your customers from time to time. Make regular contact. Remind them that you’re their contractor.
Retention tool – This is what you plan to use to do so. In some cases, retention tools are technological, such as email auto-responders, live chat on your website and customer online portals. But they’re also the traditional tools, such as customer newsletters, thank you notes, holiday cards, follow up calls, customer-only offers and so forth.
The point is, know what you want to do, how you want to do it – and then get to it.