For most organisations, the best customers are those who don’t just use your product or service on a single occasion. It’s those who come back continually, helping to advocate for your brand, and build your bottom line.
Yet most still focus their website experience almost exclusively on new business.
Those who think about customer retention and their web experience, however, are the most likely to grow steadily over the long term.
And building those relationships with customers is entwined with customer experience, of course. A 2020 survey found that 40% of customers stopped doing business with a company due to poor customer service.
Enter live chat. A good live chat service on your website should not only provide you with new business leads but also a great way to deliver excellent service to your existing customers. This helps you to show they’re still important to you, boost retention and create brand advocates - people who recommend your business to their friends, family and colleagues.
It’s now a well-publicised fact that retaining existing customers is more cost effective than finding new ones. It costs up to seven times more to acquire a new customer than keep an existing one.
The probability of selling to an existing customer is around 60% - 70%, while this drops to between 5% and 20% probability of selling to a new prospect.
However, while existing customers offer better profits, many organisations still do not even have a customer retention strategy. Another survey found that only 40% of companies have an equal focus on new business and customer retention.
In fact, for most companies, around 65% of their business will come from existing customers. So, making sure that you have a retention focus will help you to stand head and shoulders above your competition.
Of course, the key to customer retention is to offer an excellent product and service in the first place. And while price is naturally a factor, it’s often not as major as you might think. In fact, research says 86% of consumers are actually willing to pay up to 25% more for a better customer experience.
And it’s not just about retention.
Creating a great customer experience will not just allow you to sell again and again to existing users of your product or service. It will create a better view of your brand in the wider world. In an age of online reviews, recommendations on social media, and the use of brand advocates, offering an excellent experience will not just offer retention benefits – it will grow new business too.
41% of website users now prefer live chat over any other customer service channel. 32% still prefer phone support, 23% email support, and 3% who like to receive support via social media.
For users, live chat offers a quick and hassle-free way to get in touch with a business when things go wrong, or when they have a query. And for businesses, this presents an opportunity to deal with problems quickly and efficiently – ensuring that your customers receive a great experience.
Yomdel can help you to enhance your business with fully managed live chat. This means that you will have an expert on hand to answer chat queries 24/7 all year round.
If you haven't yet looked into a 24/7 managed live chat service, or you'd just like to know more about the options available to you, don’t hesitate to get in touch, we would be happy to chat.