If you are a business owner, your primary aim is to increase the number of customers that you have. While this is our natural instinct, it is not enough to run after new clients all the time. You will realize over time that customer retention is equally (and sometimes more) important.
Content marketing is one of the most common ways of marketing. You acquire new customers through content marketing. However, the reach of content marketing doesn’t end in obtaining new clients. You have to get into a relationship with your clients for an unspecified timespan. Why? Because the more you will retain the present customers, the more you will be able to increase your sales. Loyal customers are more likely to spend on a new product or service that you launch in comparison with the new customers. So, even though your main target is to generate new leads, it can also be used to retain your present customer base.
Whatever operation you provide, you should aim for creating a buyer-centric environment. And for that you will need to take an all-inclusive content marketing approach.
What are the types of content we are talking about?
When we say ‘content marketing’, most people think it refers to either blogs or content posted on social media platforms. No, you are not wrong in that sense. However, when it comes to retaining the present customers, the extent of content becomes much more than just blogs and social media posts.
Starting from your email campaigns to your blogs to the newsletters to your website content and a lot matters when it comes to content marketing. Believe it or not, your customers are loyal towards your brand as long as they are satisfied with the product and they feel connected to your content. So, if content marketing is this important for retaining customers, it is best that you start with the process now.
Customer reviews and testimonials:
Most of your customers will feel connected immediately if they see customer feedbacks. Don’t you go through reviews before buying a product? The theory is same here. Your customers will also check out your website or third party websites to see what others have to say about your product or service. So, how does it help in retention of the present customers, right? Well, if your customers understand that they can share what they are feeling truly, they are more likely to stick to your company.
It is also necessary that you go through the customer reviews regularly. If not daily, make it a weekly plan to check out what your present customers are saying about your business (whether on your website or anywhere else). It is extremely important that you reply to the reviews posted by the customers. People who are providing positive feedback should be appreciated for their time.
Negative feedbacks should be treated with extra care. Do not remove negative reviews unless the customers use improper language. Rather, reply as courteously as possible and provide them with a solution. Since the feedbacks posted are public, try and make sure to follow up whether the problem has been solved or not. This thread of content will show that you not only keep an eye on the customer reviews but you also pay attention to the problems faced by the customers.
Get yourself visible on communities:
There are many online communities where people share their feedbacks. While some of these communities are officially sanctioned, some are created by fellow customers. No matter what the origin of these communities are, you have to make sure that you also take part in at least a few of these communities. You may not even know that people on these platforms are talking about your product or service.
So, what can you do? You can ask your marketing team to create content that is driven by some purpose. Be sure to maintain regularity when creating content that advocates your brand. The most important part is to create content that the customers feel related to and content that is experiential.
Connect your marketing team and customer support team:
Suppose you have a marketing team that works for creating your website content, social media content and other pieces of content that are used for marketing. This is what drives your sales and attracts more customers. Now, when it comes to retention of the present customers, the most important part is customer support. You may have a dedicated team to take care of the requirement of your customers.
Is your customer support team equipped enough to provide them with what they want? While your marketing team is talking about the features and benefits, your customer support team may lack the knowledge on the same. So, make sure that both your customer support team and your marketing team are on the same page.
A huge part of the conversation between the customers and the support team takes place through emails. Now, I am not here to explain the importance of emails to you. But I can surely confirm that email content is one of the major reasons why your customers stay with you for longer. So, it is your responsibility to train your customer support team to create email content that is not only inclusive but that is also constructive. Apart from offering resolution to their problems, customers should also be appreciated regularly for staying loyal. The more you believe on them, the more they will remain trustworthy.
Use your website as a tool:
It is obviously important that your customer support team is using content in a better way. There is more to using content for your business. Your website is one of the most powerful tools that you can use to retain the customers that you got.
So, what are the points that you should remember? First, your website should be easily navigable. If there are different segments of your business, make sure that all the segments are separated from each other. Make sure that the segments are named properly as well.
Include a FAQ or ‘frequently asked question section’ so that people can take a look at the questions and know whether the answer to their problems is already there. Inclusion of chatbots in your website is a great initiative. You can have some preset reply content that the chatbots will use until any customer support executive from your end is able to reply to the queries.
When you are creating content for FAQ or chatbots, the quality of the content should be your primal focus. Research on the type of questions people might look for and answer those on your website. Keep updating the content from time to time to keep the website fresh.
Apart from everything else, create a blog section in your website and keep updating that regularly. The content that you put in your blogs should also be high in quality to maintain uniformity of your website.
Do not confine in written content:
Content marketing is not confined in written content only. Video content is also something that you can try out. Video is a great way to engage your target audience. There are many platforms that allow you to post video content now. You can choose any of those platforms and upload content related to your business.
Now, suppose you offer digital marketing service. You might think that there is no one that you can target on YouTube or Instagram. But trust me, it is not true. Your target audience can be anywhere and everywhere. You just need to target the right people. And the best way to do that is to start producing content that is suited for these websites. However, my advice to you will be to research properly before getting started with using these mediums. This will ensure that you produce content that your target audience wants to see.
The same theory applies for newsletter as well. Newsletters are great when you want to engage your present customers and retain them. Why? Because your present customers get to know about what new service or product you are about to launch. Or they may also know whether you have made profit (sometimes sharing profit updates help in customer retention) in the last quarter. This ensures that there is a connection between you and your customers. They feel valued and part of your business. Hence, they want to continue the business relationship with your company.
Conclusion:
Since you own a business, you will realize that growing your business is not an easy task to do. It is getting even harder with the growing competition in every field. Hence, it is extremely important that you give your full effort to improving sales. And retention of the present customers is one of the most effective ways of increasing sales. Content marketing can help you in making sure that you retain your customers apart from encouraging new clients to avail your service or buy your product.
You may not be accustomed with the fact that you can use content marketing for customer retention. Hence, we are here to help you out. Nico Digital is a digital marketing company that offers content marketing service. We ensure that you not only get new clients but also keep the ones that you already have. Besides, we also have experienced content creators and marketers who know how to drive sales for your business.
