Don’t make a bad situation worse by letting your guard down when executing customer retention campaigns. Mistakes are easy when the relationship with your customer is at stake. So many times, marketers rush to the punch without making sure they have established all the right messages. This guide will help you see some of the common mistakes marketers make when trying to do customer retention and hopefully allow you to plan better for your retention needs.
Gut Reaction
Customer retention starts before your customer leaves. Sending a “we’re sorry your leaving email” that was never prompted by other triggered messages or insights is a waste of time. Of course you are sorry, you just lost money. If you were sorry, you would have done something about it earlier.
Discount to Death
We’ve written about discounting and coupons, and how they will kill your business if not done correctly. Don’t “offer” your customers when they are leaving. Its just another way for them to devalue your service, since now you are trying to give it away.
Impersonal
Your messages are impersonal. People are smart and can sense a form mail, or mail merge on an email template. You need to go beyond their name to make real impact. Purchase history, or details about their life with your company will always drive relevance to your messages.
To Little To Late
If you are automating your messages, make sure you are using predictive, not just responsive triggers. You cannot always assume when the customer has made the decision to leave. So you need to make sure you are covering a wide array of triggers so you can get them before they make the emotional and mental decision to leave.
You Don’t Give Them Options
Your customers are constantly working to see how your product or service fits into their lifestyle or needs. At some point, your offering might not be the match it once was, and they will be forced to make a decision. Having other options available for your product or service would be a good way to move them to a better fit, rather than loose them altogether.
