“For companies operating in a highly competitive market with already dominant players, it’s essential that you dedicate ample resources to customer retention.”
Suppose you’re a small business trying to compete in a market already dominated by big players. In that case, you know that those big players’ huge marketing budgets make it almost impossible to compete through traditional lead generation.
Instead, focus on keeping the customers you already have.
If you’re great at customer retention, you won’t need to be as good at getting new customers because you won’t need the extra revenue. And one of the main ways smaller companies can grow without being pushed out by bigger players is through word of mouth. It’s all about keeping your customers happy — so if you’re achieving that, you’re in a good spot.
The customer relationship management (CRM) software market is highly competitive, with at least 20 major players and many more minor, more specialised providers. In other words, it isn’t an easy environment to carve out your niche.
Nevertheless, there’s widespread demand for CRM platforms across industries. and a hunger for more accurate customer data is expected to push the market in the US to $35 billion by 2023. In Australia, businesses invested $2.3billion on CRM technologies in 2018, up nearly 20 per cent in 2017.
So, why shouldn’t smaller companies get a share of that, even with more dominant players in the mix?
Thankfully, the defeat we once feared as a less dominant player hasn’t come to fruition. Why? We market ourselves as a product that people should buy after they were let down by the competition — hence the name of the company: Less Annoying CRM.
How to win the retention game
My experience as a smaller fish in a big pond has given me insight into how to succeed in challenging environments. If your company exists in a space with one or more dominant players, these strategies will help:
Set the right tone during the buying process. Too many professionals think that if they make the sale, they’ve accomplished the mission.
But a customer-hostile sales process will leave a bad taste in customers’ mouths, and they’ll remember that when renewal rolls around or they’re deciding whether to repurchase from you.
To give your customers the best buying experience, target your audiences closely, which puts you ahead of large companies trying to serve a broad customer base.
Dominant players need to communicate with consumers in specific, highly corporate language to ensure they’re appealing to a broad audience.
But smaller companies can insert more voice and personality into their websites and other external messaging to appeal to smaller, more particular audiences.
Make your customers feel part of your team
When people shop at a smaller business, they aren’t just buying the product — they’re supporting the people who work there. The more you can make them feel like they’re part of the team, the more likely they’ll want to stay committed.
Be transparent, personal and open to sharing your story. You probably can’t afford an extensive public relations campaign, but you can tell your customers exactly what you’re working on.
At the end of the year, send an email to your customer base detailing what you accomplished over the past year and what you intend on doing in the coming year to offer even more value. As a result, customers will view you as an authentic, trustworthy partner.
Invest in your employees’ purpose
If you’re a solopreneur, it’s easier to form personal connections with customers. But as you hire more employees, that advantage can wear off — unless you build a team that’s just as passionate about helping the customer.
Give employees a sense of purpose. Talk about the company’s progress, share positive feedback from customers and reinforce how employees contribute to significant milestones.
Make sure each employee understands who your customers are and why it’s important to help them. Invest in training and onboarding that goes beyond basic on-the-job skills.
Gather customer feedback regularly
Your customers are your best source of information regarding what’s going well and what’s not. Send out regular feedback forms — at least once a year— and respond to everyone so that customers know you’re listening.
Make sure that people who talk to customers share information with those who don’t. For example, we have a weekly meeting where the support team can bring customer suggestions and feedback to the entire team for discussion.
And when customers leave, don’t just focus on trying to win them back. Instead, figure out why they went in the first place.
For companies operating in a highly competitive market with already dominant players, you must dedicate ample resources to customer retention. Those customers are the key to your success — no matter what competition you face.