Today’s installment in our series on technology and your small business will focus on customer retention software and how it can help you. Your business won’t survive if you can’t keep your customers coming back. As makers of the world's best small business inventory management solution, we know this well. That's why we do our best in every interaction with a customer. If they don’t like you enough to continue to frequent your store, they certainly won’t be helping you grow your customer base by recommending you to family and friends. You need loyal customers and you need to keep them happy. Technology is changing the way that your customers get information and the most successful customer loyalty programs are changing as well.
First, we’d like to briefly talk about customer retention strategies in general. You’re probably already familiar with these concepts, but a quick review will help us illustrate how software can help you achieve these goals. A recent article by Ross Beard on clientheartbeat.com outlines 9 strategies for customer retention: set customer expectations, be the expert, build trust through relationships, implement anticipatory service, make use of automation, build KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) around customer service, build relationships online, go above and beyond, and implement customer feedback surveys. Technology can help with all of the above. For example, inventory stock counts in real-time with tools like our small business inventory management solution will prevent mad customers when you tell them an item is out of stock.
Your company website is a great place to set customer expectations and establish yourself as an expert. E-mail is great for building relationships, sending reminders and updates, and sending customer feedback surveys. For the other initiatives, there are some great software solutions that can help.
The 360 Platform allows you to provide instant rebates and loyalty rewards. You can customize the solution to meet your needs and engage customers, track their online activity, and measure results. To learn more visit 360.
Another great option is Belly. Belly is designed to help you create digital connections, strengthen customer relationships, and enhance marketing efforts. With Belly you can identify specific qualities and habits of your customers and then target your marketing efforts to them. You can take your paper loyalty cards online and reward your customers digitally. Belly has a social media component to help you integrate your initiatives there as well. Find out more or give their free demo a try here.
A fairly new trend in customer loyalty is gamification. In customer retention terms, gamification is the use of game strategies to engage your customers. Big Door provides a customer retention solution that incorporates gamification, allowing you to reward your customers for more than just their purchases. Customers can earn rewards for social media activities, referring friends and much more. Of course, Big Door also allows you to track interactions and tailor offerings to your clientele. Big Door offers solutions designed specifically for a number of different industries including, retail, restaurant/dining, entertainment, travel/hospitality, telecommunications and publishing. Check out everything that Big Door has to offer.
Again, our list is not comprehensive, but it should give you an idea of how technology could help you retain customers. If you are interested in learning more about gamification, check back with us soon.
Why again aren't you using our small business inventory management tool? You know it's free, right?
To find out how Stockpile can improve your inventory management efforts visit our site and signup for the world's best small business inventory management solution.
