Why and when retention should be one of your strategic priorities

A client’s marketing manager just didn’t get that retention was the agreed priority for the next six months. So their marketing - ideas, content, tactics - continued to be entirely focused on the more generic goal of “sales.”

Budget and time were being spent on chasing new customers, instead of honing in on getting existing customers to buy again.

I see this time and time again, and I get it. Acquisition feels exciting. It can feel like success when a new customer buys from you.

But if retention is a good opportunity for you, it should be sucking up as much, if not more, of your time, marketing budget, and energy.

How to know if retention should be your strategic priority

Here are just some indicators that you really should have a retention strategy in place:

• You’ve already got strong customer loyalty.

• Your products are repeat-purchase friendly (skincare, supplements, food, consumables).

• You’re innovating and bringing new products to market.

• You want a healthier, more predictable bottom line.
  

Essentially, if customers can buy from you again, you need to make sure they want to!

Then it's time to knuckle down on the right retention tactics

Once retention is your focus, you need tactics that actively encourage repeat purchase and loyalty. Here are just some examples of ways to tie in your customers, and get those all important repeat purchases....

• Subscriptions – make it simple to stay stocked up.

• Rewards / loyalty schemes – give customers a reason to keep coming back.

• Product innovation – new products or limited editions keep things fresh and relevant.

• Customer service – the often-overlooked driver of retention.

Deciding on the right marketing that works for retention

Next, you have to plan what marketing you're going to do - what channels to use, and campaigns to run, that will talk directly to your existing customers.

• Email marketing – post-purchase flows, replenishment, loyalty, re-engagement.

• Social content – designed for your customers, not just awareness.

• Ads – remarketing and segmentation of existing buyers with tailored offers.

And finally, how to measure success - when will you know your retention strategy is working?

As with all marketing, to know it's working you need to MEASURE! Some of the key metrics to monitor include:

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) – are customers spending more with you over time?

• Number of orders per customer – a simple but powerful measure.

• Revenue split – how much is from existing vs. new customers?

• Retention rate – how many customers return within a set timeframe.

I'm not saying acquisition matters – but if retention is where your biggest opportunity lies, then that’s where your strategy and resources need to point. Deciding on your split between acquisition and retention HAS to be entirely tailored by your business and where you are right now.

If you're not sure if retention should be your priority right now, or how to get started, book a Quickfire Strategy Call and together we can map out whether retention should be your focus, and how to make it happen.