Acquisition without retention is like a bucket full of water with holes.
If the rate of water leaking through the holes is greater than the rate of water filling in the bucket, the bucket will be empty soon, and if the rate of water filling in the bucket is greater than the rate of water leaking through the holes, the bucket will empty if you stop filling water to it.
What is retention marketing?
Retention marketing is the process by which you focus on making your users repeat purchases, stay engaged on your platform, and increase lifetime value.
Here’s what a marketing strategy looks like today.
Marketers, founders, and businesses are primarily driven by acquisition marketing today. Higher acquisition leads to higher costs, higher costs mean lower revenue, and lower revenue means thinner profits.
Now, while acquisition is key, retention is equally critical, if not more. Would you rather have one customer purchase a hundred times or have ten customers purchase once?
Also, acquiring new customers can be costly & typically more expensive than retention. Retention not only saves costs but also builds brand loyalty among your customers.
Why is retention marketing Important?
According to Forbes, 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers.
If that doesn’t build a case, we don’t know what will.
There are two types of marketers in this world. Type A Marketers will keep filling the bucket with water & never look at holes. Type B Marketers will keep fixing the holes.
Type A Marketers spend a large chunk of their marketing budget on acquiring new customers. However, they don’t pay much heed to building a relationship with them. Even though these marketers enjoy a short-term boost in their top line, they’re unable to extract enough ROI from a paid acquisition.
On the other hand, Type B Marketers give equal weight to acquisition and retention (and sometimes more weight to retention). They understand that keeping their existing customers happy and satisfied leads to long-term financial gains. As a result, they not only increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) but also stay ahead of their competition.
How to Improve Retention?
Too many businesses underestimate the importance of customer loyalty. Loyal customers help your business grow, expand, and tap into new markets. It also helps you with customer retention and acquisition. In addition, it improves your brand’s image and helps you generate higher returns.
This is why you must focus on retention marketing strategies to win the trust of your customers and turn them into loyal customers.
Below are the four most effective and powerful strategies to win your customer’s loyalty:
- Provide excellent customer support
- Engage strongly with your customers
- Streamline your customer experience
- Personalize your communication
The best part of these customer loyalty strategies is that they are effective for small startups and big Fortune 500 companies. However, remember that these strategies cannot generate the desired results overnight. As with any marketing strategy, like building links or creating a new content marketing campaign, you’ll need to be patient to see any visible impact.
Conclusion
If you still want to learn more about real-life retention strategies, here is a case study on Farmers Fresh Zone, an agritech platform that saw a 25% growth in revenue thanks to retention marketing.
By upping your retention game, you are saving revenue, generating engagement, building brand loyalty, and ensuring the exponential growth of your business.
