How Do You Ensure Customer Retention Is High?
Posted on | Posted in Care Home Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Blog
Every business owner has the desire to succeed and grow and the obvious answer is to pour all efforts into generating new business.
With a lot of care sector businesses we work with, we find that new customer acquisition is high but, often, customer retention is poor. Protecting current revenue is an extremely important part of your overall business growth.
If your business is specialised, you might only support a client during a specific time that the service is needed. However, the level of service you provide will be remembered. Should the client need you again, or know someone who may need you, you want to ensure that you are the first choice. Referrals & testimonials play a huge part of your overall care home marketing or home care marketing plan.
Customer Service
Customer service starts with the first interaction a person has with your care home or home care business. With the internet at your customers’ fingertips and the opportunity for instant feedback, every touch point truly does matter.
Keeping this in mind, as a business owner, you have two types of customers:
- Internal customers: employees and stakeholders, anyone within the organisation
- External customers: anyone who pays your business for your services
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” ― Richard Branson
“Take care of associates and they’ll take care of your customers.” – J. W. Marriott
The quote differs between varying big business owners and leaders but the theme stands that if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.
We cannot stress enough about the importance of having standards and ensuring all team members are meeting, if not exceeding your service standards, with both employees and customers. After all, why would you pour money into a care home marketing or home care marketing plan if your business fails to deliver?
Make Yourself More Available
What we have found is that many care companies will respond to new enquiries much quicker than they would to a question from a current customer.
This mindset needs to change. Both types of contacts are equally important – even if a current customer sends an email which doesn’t require an immediate response, it will prove invaluable to respond as efficiently as possible.
This has a knock on effect. If a business can prioritise their current customer base, then customer retention will improve. The foundations of the business will be stronger and you will see an organic increase in sales and referrals.
Regular Touch Points
Once a person becomes a client, it is important to continue to let them know that they are important to you.
Set a standard for follow-ups to customer enquiries and ensure they have an expectation of when they will receive a response. A simple e-mail autoresponse can communicate this message for your office as well as give you the time to look into their question or concern.
Also, provide a follow-up call or email to ensure they feel their query has been resolved. This extra step has proven to leave a lasting impression as well as gives your team the opportunity to correct any concerns.
For a one-to-one about how we can help you with your care home marketing plan, book in a call with us.