Any business owner knows that customers are the lifeblood of your company, so keeping them engaged and on side is critical to success.

Despite this, we stumble across companies, on a daily basis, who are yet to understand the importance of their customers and scrape by forcing sales messages down the throats of their loyal customers.

For many businesses, an engaging strategy for existing clients can be a lot more profitable than the search for new business and thanks to the advancements in technology and information, engaging with your customers has never been easier.

If you’re customer retention strategy is lacking, why not try some or all of the following:

Develop Emotional Connections

Research from a number of sources illustrates the importance of a strong emotional connection with your customers. You need to learn how your target audience are connected and understand their interests and behaviours in attempt to recognise patterns in your audience.

A great way to build a connection is to show your personal touch. People like to deal with people so show them you’re not a nameless corporate robot. There are a number of things you can do to show this;

• Introduce yourself with a personalised welcome message and sign off any tweets, emails or messages with your own name.
• Use team member images on social media and forums to allow people to establish that human connection.
• Include author bio’s on any posts.

Hold a Contest

Contests are a great way to grab a user’s attention. Not many people will turn down the opportunity to win free products from a company they have previously brought from. You can use this to grab their attention, deliver a crucial message and reward them for their participation.

A great way to do this is asking customers to share creative photos of your products or business and tagging you on social media. Not only will this broadcast your company to other (new) like-minded individuals but will also see increased visitor figures from existing customers.

Use Technology

Social media is still relatively new to many companies, but is a great way of creating engagement. Whilst many small businesses avoid the platforms over fear of negative feedback – dealing with problematic clients can show a softer side to your business and prove how important it is for your customers to be happy. Interaction aside, you can also use the platforms to predict what your customers want and get a better understanding of their interests.

Make Your Customers Part Of The Team

Giving your customers a chance to input in any future product developments is a great way to keep everyone on board but you can also highlight customer achievements and messages. Whether it’s something they have achieved using your products/services or maybe they’ve launched a new business or charity – show them how important they are to you by highlighting them to your followers.

Got a business celebration? Get your customers involved! Offering exclusive discounts or loyalty discounts is a great way to push sales without forcing a sales message.

Exclusive Content or Offers

Following from the previous point, you don’t need a reason to provide offers for your business. Releasing exclusive content is a great way to give your customers new information and allow them to use your business to get themselves ahead of the curve. Discount codes for email subscription can also see your newsletter sign ups rise, creating a win-win for both you and your customers.