Even if you want to buy a needle, you get to compare countless brands on Google.
Thus, avoiding customer churn in today's digital world is almost impossible!
If they don't find what they are looking for, they can always hit the back button.
According to Accenture, over 77% of buyers are not loyal to any specific brand.
So don’t waste your energy on gaining a customer for life.
It’s about the next time, every time…
Why Customer Retention Matters?
As Brian Balfour said, “If your retention is poor, nothing else matters.”
I know it tempts many sellers to have more customers on board. But it may cost you 5 times more than retaining those who are already part of your business.
The point, though, is that customer retention is cheaper and more valuable than customer acquisition.
But how can you go about it?
The simple answer is…
Through TECHNOLOGY!
Technological innovation is reshaping every industry. And ecommerce is not an exception.
The best part?
You can combine your customer retention strategies with technology to give your customers a reason to stay with your brand.
Technologies like AI, ML, and AR will help you take your customer retention efforts to a whole new level.
Not sure how to leverage technology to turn your satisfied customers into loyal ones?
I will show you in this article…
But before that, let's have a look at the basic churn formula!
Calculating Customer Churn Rate
You can use this formula to calculate customer attrition over a specific period:
Customer Churn Rate = Lost customers/Total customers at the start of period⨯100
Let's put in some figures to see how it works!
Let's suppose your business had 300 customers at the start of the period and lost 15 by the end. Your churn rate will be 5%.
Now, if you're calculating annually, this equates to 0.4% monthly churn.
Which is quite unrealistic…
Wondering how high is too high?
According to Baremetrics, the average monthly churn rate is 7.5% (61% yearly churn).
Your goal is to beat this figure or at least maintain it.
Technology As A Key Tactic For Improving Customer Retention
I’ll be honest with you. There is no way you can keep 100% of your customers!
Some of them will stick to your brand while others leave.
That’s how things in business work.
But a high churn rate can cripple your long-term business growth.
Check this Forbes article if you want to review some real-life examples.
While doing some random research, I came across a Zendesk’s Trend report.
According to that, 82% of customers refused the brand because of poor customer service.
The same report reveals that 53% of clients have switched to another brand because they felt unappreciated.
Now, what does that mean?
It means your customers value ‘experience’ above anything else.
They expect a brand to know their needs and come up with tailored solutions.
And if you ask me...
You can only keep up with your customer’s needs when you use innovation and technology.
But the question is, how can you use technology to improve customer retention?
The following section answers this question.
Four Tech-Based Strategies To Boost Customer Retention You Need To Try Now!
Modern (read: successful) brands use these four tech-based strategies to retain their customers:
1. Help Customers Achieve Their Goals
If you want to keep your buyers happy, deliver them what they want.
How do you know what your customers want?
Listen to them!
I know you can’t knock on their doors and ask for feedback. But trust me, there are countless other ways.
With a host of Power BI and other dashboard and CRM tools, you can have closed-loop feedback.
You can also write and send retention-driving emails to engage with your clients.
I use such emails to provide my customers with product tutorials and guides. So you can also do the same.
Let’s move on to the next one…
2. Personalize The User Experience
You can't treat all your customers alike.
If you only trust numbers…
78% of consumers will be loyal to the brand that offers personalized solutions.
This is something that sets your brand apart from others.
Let's take the example of Spotify here. The music streaming giant creates campaigns based on user data.
Oh! I still remember their #2018Wrapped campaign. Spotify took personalization to the next level using its wealth of data.
Nike is another example. The iconic sports brand launched its product personalization app called NikeID in 1999.
How can we forget Netflix?
Did you notice no two Netflix homepages look the same? That's because the streaming service shows what you want to see.
How can technology support your personalization efforts?
Here’s what you need to see…
WCM
Dealing with segmented audiences?
You can use WCM platforms to deliver engaging digital experiences to different audiences.
Voice Interactions
You can use voice interaction technology to improve the audiovisual experience.
I love placing my order with the Starbucks barista app. Do you?
AI
Ever wondered how Netflix and Facebook know about your preferences?
It's AI, my friend.
Many brands are using it. It's your turn now...
Blockchain
Take your personalization efforts to the next level using blockchain. You can create digital identities with it.
Your customers will love the experience.
IoT Devices
With IoT devices, you can know your customers better. Many healthcare brands are using them to provide value to their customer’s lives.
Chatbots
You already know about this one, right?
90% of customers expect quick responses from customer care. Unlike human support agents, chatbots can handle many customer queries, and that too 24/7.
Up next on my list is...
3. Offer Impeccable Customer Support
Your relationship with your customers is established as soon as they place an order on your site.
Then the series of questions and conflicts begin.
Now, how quickly and fast you resolve those issues will make all the difference.
Many brands use visual engagement to provide technical support to their customers.
Screen-based solutions allow customer reps to see the buyer’s device in real time.
The result?
They can resolve issues in no time and guide customers through AR.
Happy Customers = Retention
Now, we have...
4. Predictive Analytic
When it comes to ecommerce, data is everything.
That’s why every company wants to have predictive analytics capabilities.
Entrepreneurs in 2021 are lucky, as they can use as many predictive analysis tools as they want.
Some of my favorites you can’t go wrong with include:
✔ IBM SPSS Statistics
✔ SAP Predictive Analytics
✔ H20
✔ QResearch
✔ SAS Advanced Analytics
With these tools, you can collect data and predict customer’s needs and desires.
How awesome is that?
Another customer retention technology you can use is...
Wait......hold on for a second!!!
Didn't I say "Four Tech-Based Strategies"?
Well...I know I've already shared four amazing customer retention strategies with you, but why settle for four when you have hundreds of other options?
So, here are a few more you don’t want to miss out on...
Tech-Based Customer Retention Strategies (BONUS!)
5. Fraud Detection And Prevention
As I said above, you have to collect data for your business to run.
But are you capable of protecting it from data theft and fraud?
Today’s customers take data security quite seriously.
And why shouldn’t they?
After all, they share lots of their personal information with you.
It’s your job to maintain transparency about the information you collect, use, and share.
The good news is...
New fraud prevention and data security technologies are here.
Blockchain is here.
You can get an SSL certificate for your website.
You can ditch HTTP and use HTTPS.
And invest in reliable malware detection, removal, and protection tools.
6. Human-Like Intelligence To Improve Customer Satisfaction
If AI seems like an expensive and tricky solution, let me tell you it simply isn't!
AI is at its best when small businesses use it to make their customer's lives better.
Here are a few ways you can use AI to make your customer's experience better.
Use AI to provide customers with product recommendations
Provide quick and accurate answers to their questions
Accurate shipping costs estimation
Did you know KFC uses a facial recognition app to predict what you want to eat?
Also, Macy's AI-fueled shop assistant needs no introduction at all.
Hey, you can also upload a picture of your favorite celebrity wearing what you like on ASOS. Their AI tool will skim through their database and show you relevant options.
Did I mention, those options will be affordable too?
Excited to check out the next?
7. Automated Back-Office Solutions
You can combine all solutions I discussed above to automate back-office processes.
I know people who're afraid of using new technologies. The reason they give will surprise you.
They believe these technologies will replace humans.
But that's not true...
Your employees can work better when they have access to these solutions.
Better productivity means better support and data handling.
Customers love to stick to brands that are there when they need them.
You can also improve customer retention by providing your customers with an...
8. Engaging In-Store Experience
If you miss visiting your nearby superstore due to Covid, this one’s for you.
With AR, you can provide your customers with an engaging in-store experience.
Okay, I know the number never lies. Research reveals 71% of buyers want to buy from a brand that offers AR features.
40% of consumers are even willing to pay more for such an experience.
Many brands, including IKEA and Sephora, have already stepped into the world of AR.
What about you?
Are You Ready To Take The Leap? Go On...This World Is Yours!
Customer retention is important...
I've shared some of the best tech-based customer retention strategies in this post.
Have you tried any of these technologies yet to improve customer retention?
If yes, you can share your experience down below.
I'd love to hear back...
Turn your store into a sales machine with Debutify. No coding is required!
Ricky Hayes
Trisha Ballesteros
