How to keep a client: strategies, methods, tools. N number of effective ways to attract and retain customers Customer retention system

24.09.2018 14:39

Attracting and retaining customers are the moments that business owners most often worry about. Customers are profit, and profit is an opportunity to develop your business, expand it and increase turnover.

There is a lot of advice on what to do or not to do in order to please customers, win their trust, and make them repeat customers. It's hard to single out a universal tip (other than "be honest"), but I think that among the 11 tips below, you will definitely find a few that will come in handy.

1. Shares

Promotions are the first and most effective tool in attracting and retaining customers. They often determine the competitiveness of a company: the more “generous” you are, the more customers you can acquire.

Google conducted a study and found out that promotions and discounts attract 73% of the female audience (we are talking about an online clothing and accessories store).

Stock options:

2. Loyalty program

Regular customers love a special attitude towards themselves - after all, among all they chose your company or store, which means they want to get at least a small bonus from your interaction. Therefore, loyalty programs are available in almost any store.

Let's just look at the numbers (according to information Digital Republik ):

• 88% of customers are registered in some kind of loyalty program;
• 71% of customers agree to sign up for a loyalty program to receive discounts;
• 63% are ready to register to receive free goods (gifts);
• 58% of firms using the loyalty program noted that customers became more satisfied (changes occurred during the year).

With the help of a well-built loyalty program, you can outperform your competitors by significantly increasing the number of your regular customers.

A good loyalty program is:

• a program that you can simply and quickly join;
• a program that does what it says;
• a program that offers personal discounts or bonuses.

A large number of nuances and conditions “under an asterisk” will scare away customers, so it’s better to make the program as transparent and understandable as possible.

3. Wish lists

A wish list (or wish list) is now available in almost any more or less large online store. This is also convenient for customers - they return to the site and see a list of what they would like to buy; and for the store - as it makes it possible to send letters with information about goods from the wish list.

4. Quick buy button

Many online stores offer a 1-click purchase: the buyer fills out a very small form (without registration and SMS :) - and now the product is already on its way to it.

This option is much more significant than it might seem at first glance - in the digital age, the pace of life has increased, every minute becomes valuable - and the buyer is more likely to come to the store where you can quickly and easily order the right product than to where he is waiting for a long registration form and a bunch of checkout pages.

The column "They often buy with this product" can be seen under the card with the product. It allows you to select the right products for the purchase of the client. Of course, there is an important nuance here: offeradditionalgoods, not duplicates. The client buys sneakers - offer him laces, shoe polish, insoles - and not other sneakers.

And if you need to demonstrate a range of products that are similar to what the client chooses, just sign the block - “Similar products” or “You might like it”.

In general, give customers a choice, this will help increase sales.

6. Good support service

It is not for nothing that the support service is called the face of the store - most often customers communicate with it.

A good support team is:

• quick responses;
• quality help;
• customer loyalty;
• polite communication.

It is clear that if the store employees communicate friendly, provide maximum assistance and go towards the client in disputable situations, then the client will want to return to such an online store.

And keep in mind the availability of a support service, preferably through several channels (phone, online chat, email, skype, and so on).

7. Mailing lists

Newsletters are one of the most effective tools in the hands of marketers. Through letters, you can remind customers about yourself, keep in touch with them; tell them about new products in the range, promotions and sales. New customers can be sent personalized offers with a discount, free shipping, or anything else that encourages them to buy.

Although you should not limit yourself to advertising only - send useful information, interesting tips, eye-catching illustrations - such letters will appeal to both new and regular customers.

8. Blog

Continuing the theme of interesting content: useful information can not only be sent in letters, but also posted on the site in the "Blog" section. A blog is generally a popular topic now, as it allows you to talk about a lot - about goods, services, the life of an online store, its employees, and so on.

What is the most important moment here? Blog for clients, not search engines.

9. Collaboration

Many resources offer cooperation either in the form of a referral program (the client receives a percentage of the purchase of goods by a person who came through his referral link), or in the form of a distributor (the client receives goods cheaper, sells them at a standard price, takes the difference).

Cooperation programs are a benefit for both parties, increasing loyalty and increasing audience coverage.

Hello! How to keep a visitor on the site and improve behavioral factors? I'm sure every webmaster asks this question. There are several well-known and, in principle, simple methods for this, which we will talk about today. However, not every newcomer to blogging understands what exactly it is necessary to retain these very visitors. Let's start by answering this question.

Why is it necessary to keep a visitor on the site?

Firstly, when creating a website or a blog, we naturally expect a return from it. Whether we offer to buy some product, use a service, or simply decide to make ourselves known to the world, the ultimate expectation (whatever one may say) is to make a profit. A visitor who closes your site after a few seconds is unlikely to have made a purchase or been interested in the advice you give on your blog. This means that your efforts and investments in the site were in vain (this fact itself is already offensive, isn't it? :().

Conclusion: The longer the visitor stays on the site, the more likely they are to buy a product or service offered by you or banners on your site.

Secondly, it is known that search engines receive and analyze all the actions of visitors on sites. How they do it is not known, but rest assured they know all your body movements. ;)

If visitors like your site, and they spend a lot of time on it, leave comments, share in social. networks, read 3-4 articles, then search engines increase the site in the search results. And if a visitor came in and immediately ran away from the site, as if scalded, then be sure that the search engines will lower you in the search results or, in general, throw you out.

Visitor behavior data is called behavioral factors., another interesting word in . This includes, among other things, indicators about transitions to other pages of your site and the time spent on them.

No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but profit and popularity depend on positions in search results and, on the contrary, getting into the TOP guarantees greater profit and popularity. Therefore, every webmaster is concerned with the question - how to improve the behavioral factors on the site.

Conclusion: Longer time spent by a visitor on your site will allow the resource to rise in search positions and, thereby, increase its attendance and popularity.

Thirdly, in fact, the above arguments are sufficient to understand the importance of keeping a visitor on the site. You can add, perhaps, about the factor of self-satisfaction. Keeping your blog, putting your soul into it, the desire to be useful is very nice. Realize that you are appreciated, read, bookmarked, returning again and again.

You are INTERESTING! And this is the main thing for any person with ambitions, which is what we bloggers are. :)

Conclusion: the blog is your creation and you want to get self-satisfaction from it. Receive only .

What other arguments, in your opinion, are there about the length of stay of visitors on Internet resources? We express our opinion in the comments!

9 ways to keep a visitor on the site?

1 Design

2 Contests

Fear not, visitors love them and keep coming back to your site over and over again. But you shouldn’t abuse it either, because if you hold contests very often, people will go to your blog, just check if a new contest has appeared and immediately leave if they don’t find one.

Customer service is an integral part of any company. Sometimes the buyer prefers to purchase a product or service for a considerable price, but in a place where a higher level of service awaits him.

You will learn:

• What is customer service and why does your company need it.
• What is a customer service system?
• How is customer service management possible?

Target customer service- strengthening the competitive advantages of the company by improving the level of customer service.

The organization of customer service in the company will entail:

• arrival of new customers;
• increase in the number of regular customers.

A customer-centric business aims to gain recognition and customer loyalty.

Probably all successful managers know that it is much easier and cheaper to retain a customer than to attract a new one. Almost all well-functioning companies receive the bulk of their income from regular customers. Therefore, the development of customer service should include a set of actions to preserve and increase the number of regular customers for successful work.

There are many reasons that can turn random buyers into permanent ones:

• well-chosen assortment of goods;
• optimally designed bonus system;
• professional consultations of experts;
• attractive interior, etc.

However, the creation of a permanent client base cannot be based only on the proposed system of discounts or other banal promotions. Give customers more - good attitude. According to studies, staff development increases sales by 7-20%, and customer service training can increase turnover by 50%.

The customer service of the store consists of well-structured relationships between the consumer and the seller before the transaction, during its completion and after.

Examples of customer service that inspire

• Dancing waiters

The spectacle, when a restaurant visitor calls the waiter to repeat the order, and he begins to dance in front of the client, could only be seen in some musical film before. Now such paintings are available in some cafes. The waiter approaches the visitor, but instead of placing an order, he throws back the tray and does dance steps or acrobatic tricks right next to the table. Bartenders, cooks and other waiters join him. It's a synchronized dance.

After the end of the music, all the staff, without uttering a word, disperse to their workplaces. And such a spectacle can be observed not somewhere abroad, but here in Russia (in Murmansk).

• Free shipping

A client of one of the firms, while traveling in the United States, did not take her favorite Zappos shoes with her. There was no similar pair of shoes on the store's website, and the woman decided to contact the retailer's customer service center.

The Zappos employees didn't have the right model in stock, but they bought the shoes from another store and delivered them absolutely free.

Another equally interesting story happened to a client who wanted to order a pizza, but she did not succeed, because it was already very late. She decided to jokingly call Zappos support in a completely different locality. Imagine the extent of her surprise when the customer service operator didn't even mention that they don't provide such services, but dictated the addresses of 24-hour pizzerias in her area.

• generous gifts

Following the cancellation of Starbucks' 10% guaranteed discount for its Gold Starbucks loyal customers, there have been complaints from consumers and efforts to sort things out. Instead of standard explanations, Starbucks customers not only explained the current situation, but also transferred $50 to each interested buyer for new discount cards.

• Changed plans for Harry Potter

A family of four bought a holiday to Mauritius from the award-winning travel company Trailfinders. But almost immediately after the transaction, the release date of the new Harry Potter book became known. Children from this family wanted to receive it exactly on the day the sales began. Parents had no choice but to refuse the trip. To prevent this, the workers found a bookstore in Mauritius, received confirmation that the book would go on sale the same day as in England, and booked one copy. Parents were delighted with such a service and shared their impressions with many friends and acquaintances.

• All employees participate

The award-winning Yarra Valley Water utility decided to reduce the number of customer complaints and optimize the time it takes to process them. For this, a committee was organized, whose members met once a month to identify the causes of complaints. Having determined what actions caused the claim, the committee decided to appoint new responsible persons who were to take action on this situation, provide a report on the causes of its occurrence and make proposals for its elimination. As a result, all departments of Yarra Valley Water were included in the work to solve the difficulties that arose in the process of serving customers. The company appreciated the importance of a strategic approach to customer requirements, the introduction of which contributed to a decrease in the number of claims. Pat McCafferty, Yarra Valley Water's general manager of client services, who is responsible for implementing this program, noted that the effectiveness of this method is that all employees involved in the organizational process were involved in the problem-solving process. The company's management realized that the customer service program cannot function properly if there is no support from departments that affect the quality of services provided.

General Motors and Amazon Service Principles You Can Implement in Your Company

John Shoal delivered customer service to Wimm-Bill-Dann, Amazon, General Electric. Especially for the readers of the Commercial Director magazine, the service guru adapted his system to the needs of a Russian client. Suitable even for a small company.

What is a customer service system?

• Proper selection of personnel

The complexity of selection in the service sector is very high, because the service sector is developing faster than the potential of the labor market. It is for this reason that employees are often hired without relevant work experience and recommendations, and additional efforts have to be made to train staff to provide quality service.

• Staff adaptation

During the period of accustoming a new employee to the team, a psychological contact is established between the new employee and the management. The opinion formed in the first working days will influence his future behavior. If an employee has the wrong idea at the very beginning of his career, then, most likely, he will have to forget about good service. Therefore, it is very important to immediately explain to the employee what “quality of customer service” is, and how important loyalty to visitors is.

• Company values

It is essential that every employee believes in the mission of their company. The employer is obliged to publish a document that will spell out the goals, objectives of the company, the customer service program, its standards. The director must be consistent. If you convince employees to respect all customers, but at the same time ask them not to take the goods back for anything, the staff will soon understand your true intentions and become dismissive of customers.

• Training

Even if an employee understands that he must serve his customers at the highest level, this does not mean that he will really provide them with quality service. Therefore, do not forget to pay attention to staff training. Training should be focused on making the employee aware of the relationship between training and regular everyday duties, so that his knowledge "turned" into skills.

• Assessment and indicator

The quality of service must be assessed and analyzed simultaneously with the control over economic indicators. This is usually done by the line manager. He can organize surveys, play situations of communication between a consultant and a buyer, check their work skills. Personnel assessment will help solve such problems as motivating employees to work productively, identifying those employees who have the potential for further advancement, etc.

• Corporate values ​​that many leaders underestimate

How to write customer service standards

Customer service standards are those rules and regulations that a company establishes to ensure a high quality of customer service. These requirements are created in accordance with the specifics of the organization's activities, as well as its policy of interaction with consumers.

These principles apply to the following tasks:

• maintaining the loyalty of existing customers and attracting primary ones;
• creation of a common vision and understanding of the sales department employees of the tasks and goals of interaction with consumers.

It is quite difficult to keep the service at the same appropriate level. To achieve this, you need to go through the following steps:

Stage 1. Development of uniform customer service standards

It may seem that the process of developing standards is quite simple, but it is not at all the case. To create a rule and put it into action, it is necessary to determine what the customer service program and the concept of the organization will become, what will be offered and to whom.

Stage 2. Introduction of uniform standards into action

At this stage, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

• train staff to work in accordance with corporate standards;
• explain to managers the importance of following the approved rules of engagement.

To solve these problems, it would be optimal to conduct corporate trainings, where managers have the opportunity to put into practice the principles of the developed standards. At this stage, you need to be prepared for possible resistance from the staff and be able to explain to employees that the implementation of those basics will help them achieve high results.

Stage 3. Control of compliance with standards

The result of this stage should be the mandatory application of standards by all employees in practice.

How customer service is managed: white, gray and black methods

2. Response teams

This method implies that you yourself will search for reviews on the Web, working through the negative ones.

Work in this direction is impossible without monitoring the media space. The easiest way is to search blogs and posts.

• Proactive working methods

This implies that you will take action to build your reputation before any unpleasant stories and claims arise. Such activity is especially relevant if you need to correct a negative opinion that has already arisen by default.

This method can be seen in the example of a Russian smartphone manufacturer whose products are perceived as poor quality only because the country of production is Russia, or a few years ago the company had some problems, and although the situation has changed, people's opinion is difficult to change.

Of course, the solution of such issues should be resolved already at the level of formation of a marketing strategy. The most important thing is to give consumers the opportunity to quickly and easily get up-to-date information. The main nuance is that this information should be unobtrusively conveyed to those who are not looking for it at all. Because if the client is a priori against this company (for example, because of past scandals with the environmental friendliness of products), then it is unlikely that he himself will look for refuting information.

1. Proactive work with opinion leaders.

Gather a group of people who have authority and respect among your potential customers, invite them to come to the factory, offer to test pre-released products, allow them to publish live, honest reviews, expressing their opinion about everything they have seen or tried.

You should not ask for writing "artificial" reviews that a person accidentally purchased your product and was completely delighted with it. This will irritate both the reviewer himself and the audience, which will easily recognize insincerity. Additional doubts will appear, the opinion about your company as a whole will deteriorate.

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing works to attract customers and build trust without the use of promotions. A content marketer writes interesting, informative texts without including direct advertising, unobtrusively offering a product.

You can briefly formulate the main idea of ​​this method as follows: select the target audience, determine its values, interests, what you can offer, and start putting it into practice, gaining credibility and trust.

• "Gray" methods of work

There is still an opinion in the media space that the influence of agents is a great job of improving reputation. "Agents of influence" are artificially created virtual characters on behalf of which reviews are written and advice is given to consumers on the Web. The information supposedly comes from a real person, but, in fact, it turns out to be a computer program.

Reviews are sometimes invented, and sometimes real ones are used (left, for example, on the official website). But there is a difference - reviews published on the site, or reviews sent to forums or social networks under fictitious names. People will resent the arrogance and arrogance of your company. This is more likely to alienate customers than attract new ones.

• Black methods of work

Such methods include the following ways to increase the popularity of the company:

• development of fake sites discrediting the reputation of a competitor;
• sending fake negative reviews about a competitor's products.

What are the disadvantages of gray and black methods?

• this is unethical (although performers and customers usually do not think about it);
• it is inefficient (but it is in the interests of the performer to remain silent about it);
• there is a high probability of exposure, which will cause disastrous reputational damage.

Organization of customer service: step by step instructions

Each buyer sooner or later faces some difficulties or questions about the product - it is at this moment that the client can be lost. To correct the current situation, restore and strengthen consumer loyalty, the customer service department (or support service) will help. For proper creation, the following steps should be taken:

Step 1. Choose a communication channel

To create a help desk, you need to decide on a way to communicate with consumers. Depending on the specifics of the work, you can choose: telephone, WhatsApp or Viber, email, a separate window on the site.

The chat on the site, already familiar to everyone, where people leave most of the messages, has become the most optimal way of communication. Don't give up on your phone either. The older generation will prefer this option. Consider other alternative communication methods as well.

The following situation is possible. Support specialists are slowed down due to the lack of visual capabilities. They have to spend time explaining what would become clear after viewing the corresponding picture. Interaction with the client is difficult. You can send the necessary screenshot by e-mail, but for this you would have to interrupt the communication. There is a way to solve this problem by organizing, for example, a video consultation. Now it is available with the help of various gadgets and programs for free. So you can combine a live consultation and a visual solution to the problem.

Step 2. We hire employees in the department

The support staff is very important. It is important that the customer service specialist is responsive and ready to help people. Knowledge and professional skills also have a role, but this is secondary.

As for the specific skills that you need to pay attention to in the resume, here it is worth starting from the requirements for the project and the working conditions. If the project is international, the manager must know several foreign languages ​​in order to be able to be useful to more clients and provide them with the best customer service. In other projects, it is not necessary to be a polyglot, but technical skills are important.

Step 3. Distribute the load

Often, support specialists provide advice on various issues. One person may help the consumer with registration first, and later try to solve a technical problem. But as experience and audience grow, the realization gradually comes that it is necessary to segment all tasks.

In multilingual projects, the division occurs according to linguistic characteristics, in other cases - according to industries. As a rule, this is done informally, based on the personal preferences and skills of employees. Some find it easier to provide financial advice, while others find it easier to solve technical problems. Each head of customer service must determine for himself what distribution according to which criteria will be more effective.

Also, the service can be divided into groups of consumers, doing it in different ways. For example, segment by customer class (from ordinary to VIP), individual services or corporate offers, one-time purchases or ongoing cooperation.

But in all cases, whether support is segmented or not, there is a “hot” time when the customer service center cannot cope with the influx of calls and messages. The season can also have an effect. For example, in an educational project, the greatest activity occurs in the fall, and summer will be calm at times. If this did not happen before, then it is at the height of the season that an understanding arises of how important universal answers are, without which the development of customer service is impossible. That is why it is recommended to create a FAQ section, in which the client can independently find standard answers to many questions.

Step 4Setting up privacy

Sometimes for people who contacted the customer service department, the secrecy of communication is very important. Often, the specifics of the site suggests that people will send copies of documents, diplomas, passports, bank card details and other confidential information. Many of the users are afraid of a network failure, after which information may fall into unscrupulous hands.

If it is possible to do without sending documents, use this. Let this option be left to the visitor's choice.

But if official paperwork is still required for the operation of your customer service, pay attention to data protection. For example, after reviewing a diploma and verifying it, the file is automatically deleted from the system. This will prevent your data from being passed on to third parties. It is not recommended to store personal documents of consumers unless absolutely necessary.

Step 5. Quality Control

Customer service is evaluated according to several key performance indicators (KPIs). We regularly check the speed of response and the degree of subscriber satisfaction according to the consumer loyalty index (NPS). In order for the quality of customer service not to decrease, it is necessary to constantly hold meetings both within the team and with other teams (for example, product developers). This will help in the training of staff, and in improving their skills.

Some firms use a system of punishments and rewards in their activities, but many directors are skeptical about fines. It is better not to go to extremes, mercilessly putting forward sanctions for the slightest flaw in the work, but to rely on the consciousness and responsibility of employees. Although there are organizations in which such methods work effectively. If more than 100 people participate in the project, then fines help to regulate and control the productivity of the staff. It is not necessary to refuse punishments, but you should not treat them as the most important tool for managing a team.

When it comes to incentives, this is a great way to show that an employee's quality work is highly appreciated.

Expert opinion

I personally care about the quality of customer service

Alexey Zvir,

director of ZEVS LLC, Uryupinsk, Volgograd region

In Uryupinsk, there is very high competition among grocery stores, both chain stores and small kiosks. We need to look for ways to attract consumers, improve customer service.

For example, almost all buyers are car owners, which means they will prefer to shop in a store where there is a convenient and spacious parking lot. Therefore, our company rented a plot of land next to the outlet and organized parking there.

Next is the entrance to the store. It is good if the doors open with minimal effort. I have them sliding, and the buyer with a stroller or with bulky packages does not have to free his hand to open them.

Store employees must meet a number of requirements. The seller will not be admitted to the buyers if he is not well versed in the goods. This is stated in our customer service standards. We train beginners, we regularly check those who have been working for a long time. They should be able to answer all customer questions: country of origin, shelf life and expiration dates, taste and other characteristics. The buyer can read the information on the price tag himself, this is not a hint for the seller or the administrator of the trading floor. Cashiers must not only punch through purchases, but also put them into packages.

In order for the customer service of the store to be at a high level all the time, it is necessary to know the moods and preferences of customers. We conduct surveys and surveys. So, for example, at the end of summer, girls with questionnaires stood near the entrance. After processing the results, it turned out that buyers are satisfied with the service and assortment. I take care of interesting goods myself, I bring exclusive products that cannot be bought in a chain store. For example, I buy Swiss chocolate at METRO Cash & Carry. Taking into account the responses of the buyers, I will adjust the work of the organization for the better, and in November I will conduct another survey.

More customers will come if the store is open around the clock. You can take your time, because our store is always waiting for you!

How to evaluate the level of customer service in a company

• Handling complaints

As a rule, if everything is pleasant, the client pays money and comes again, if something is wrong, he will most likely go to a competitor next time. It is very rare that only the most responsive and conscientious people help improve your service by talking about shortcomings. The book of complaints, reviews in social networks and a request to call a senior are the main material for evaluating the service. If you take action to fix problems after reading a negative review, then there is a chance to retain many customers who will no longer face an unpleasant situation.

• Mystery shopper

Everyone knows, but also an effective way. Ask people you know to call your customer service center and ask prepared questions. This will help you understand how your employees communicate with consumers. Save the recording, sort out the mistakes at the meeting, tell us about your wishes about the conversation. Give a little training, let the employees practice, and after a while repeat the test call.

• Field work

It will be a tremendous experience if a manager works on a par with subordinates a couple of times a month. For example, as a front office manager. The boss, having penetrated the environment, will be able to understand how to improve both the work of the staff and customer service in general, as well as allocate money for the proposed optimization.

• Statistics

Pay attention to financial indicators. The departments of advertising and marketing count how many new consumers came in a certain period. And how many of them went away during the same period, rarely anyone counts, although attracting primary buyers is much more expensive than maintaining existing ones. If you keep regular records, you can draw conclusions about the productivity of the customer service department or think over a loyalty program for existing customers with a competent compensation system.

• Working out points of contact

There are approximately 100 points of contact between the consumer and your firm. But few people, even the leader, can name at least 10-15 of them. The product itself, packaging, information leaflet, website - that's what most often comes to mind. But it is quite possible that the only reminder of your store for the client will be a rude cashier or an incompetent sales floor employee. Make a mind map with points of contact to analyze the quality of customer service at all stages of interaction with your company.

• Questionnaires

This is a great way to evaluate customer service. The following rules should be followed when conducting surveys: conduct infrequently, but maintain regularity, measure the same indicators to track dynamics, do not include too many questions, and thank clients for their time. But most importantly, you need to process information, and not put it off indefinitely. Most of all, people are annoyed if they filled out the paper, contacted you, and then faced the same problems.

• Competitor analysis

Usually they do not like competitors. But try not to ignore them, but try to understand what they are doing better than you. This will help you figure out what can be corrected, and what, on the contrary, should be introduced into your activities. SWOT analysis will help you with this.

• Fan poll

These are your regular, dedicated customers, your 20% Pareto law. If you periodically remind them of your appreciation and gratitude for many years of interaction, you will hear what they lack, what they have wishes.

• Communication with departed clients

Not everyone maintains a database of former clients, but if it exists, work can be done upon their return.

Some only once, for the first and last time, dealt with your firm. Why did it happen? It is important. In the next interaction, it is necessary to convey the following thoughts to the consumer:

1. Apologize ("We are very sorry, we apologize that we disappointed you and did not provide the proper quality of service").
2. Find out the reason for the break in communication (“What influenced the decision? Why are you no longer our client?”).
3. Who are you collaborating with now? What do you like? What are your comments?"
4. “Thank you for your time with us. We will be glad if you decide to return to us.
• NPS index

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is an index of consumer loyalty to secondary purchases. This indicator is well suited for those who love accuracy. The loyalty index shows how willing customers are to recommend your company and products to their friends. You can start to figure this out with one question: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how willing would you be to recommend this product to your friends?"

• Customer Loyalty Index (NPS): how to increase it competently

Expert opinion

How to conduct an NPS survey

Andrey Voynov,

Marketing Director of Invitro LLC

Target. A survey of patients was conducted to obtain feedback and clarify the stage at which difficulties appear. To do this, all those who visited the clinic (this is more than 7,500,000 people annually) were asked to answer questions posted on the official website. 900 thousand people (12%) take part in the survey, which makes it possible to guarantee the reliability of the answers received and the conclusions formulated on their basis. The survey helps to see how the patient evaluates the company's customer service, what they like, and what, on the contrary, needs to be changed. This method helps to quickly identify the most vulnerable areas of the clinic. Sometimes it turns out that these things, at first glance, are completely elementary. For example, the visibility of a sign in a particular medical center. And the leader might not even think about it. After identifying the problem, you can easily fix it - make the sign brighter or move it to a more convenient place.

How the tool works. Patients receive test results via e-mail. In each letter, we invite you to take part in a survey to evaluate customer service and the work of the company itself. If the consumer clicks on the "Feedback" link, then it appears in the section of the site with questions developed by marketers.

Most often, when calculating NPS, organizations are interested in how ready a client is to recommend a brand to their friends, and ask them to rate the work as a whole. But if a person puts a low score, it is difficult to understand what specifically he did not like. We appeal to consumers with a request to evaluate the points of contact with the company on a 10-point scale: the convenience of the location of the office, the convenience of the reception, the work of the medical staff, etc.

In the case when the patient evaluates the indicator by 9-10 points, this means that he is satisfied and ready to recommend the medical center to his relatives (the so-called "promoter"). If the patient rated this or that characteristic by 7-8 points, then he is not completely satisfied (“passive”). But such a client is quite easy to transfer to the “promoters” group, correcting what they lack in your client or professional service. However, in the case when the consumer puts 1-6 points, the service does not suit him completely (“critic”), it is recommended to correct the situation within 24 hours.

This program automatically reloads all received estimates into a single file so that marketers can analyze the results. Immediately after receiving a low score (from one to six), the information is transferred to the customer service department so that employees can contact the dissatisfied visitor and clarify his claims. The work of customer service specialists does not end there, they begin to solve the problem. If a negative review was left during the day, then the managers contact the patient within two hours, and if in the evening, then within 12 hours.

Example 1 We strictly monitor the quality level of laboratory tests, service when taking biomaterial. But it turned out that they did not pay attention to a very important nuance for patients - they did not conveniently arrange the area for putting on shoe covers. It was tight for visitors to wear shoes, which led to a low assessment of this point of contact with the organization. But after identifying the problem, the clinics began to correct the situation - they allocated more space, put more chairs. The decision lay on the surface, and in fact initially we could not even realize the reason for the dissatisfaction of patients. After all the activities carried out, people stopped complaining about this indicator and began to evaluate it 1.5 times higher.

Example 2 The client brought the child to the clinic, where, due to a malfunction in the logistics, there were no consumables for taking a certain analysis from the baby. The patient had to go to another department and order the study there. After receiving the results by e-mail, the girl clicked on the survey link and left a negative review. Customer service employees called her, apologized and refunded the cost of the taxi ride. After that, audits and proceedings were already carried out within the company. It turned out that consumables were not brought due to a disruption in delivery. We have changed the procedure for checking consumables and we no longer receive complaints about this.

Result. The number of negative reviews has halved. We fixed every mistake, over the next 3-6 months we changed NPS from two points to nine, getting satisfied regular customers.

Improving Customer Service: 7 Elementary Ways

1. Changing the picture of the world

Correcting customer service for the better begins with a change in outlook, ideas about service. It is necessary to expand the concept of quality service as much as possible. This is not only the interaction of the buyer and the cashier. The client encounters the service at every point of contact with the company: while searching for a product, when parking near a store, when viewing the necessary products in Yandex, and so on. Provide comfort to the buyer throughout the entire period of interaction with you. Each next step when purchasing a product should be obvious and simple.

What to do. Watch the employees of Sberbank PJSC, analyze the changes that have taken place. Think back to the bank branch you visit regularly just three years ago. Call their hotline. Could you imagine such changes? Try to imagine what a tremendous amount of work had to be done to change this organization so radically. This example will help you to believe in yourself and understand that it will be much easier to improve customer service in your company.

2. Knowing your statistics

As a manager, you should be aware of the following information:

• A satisfied customer will bring nine people.
• Disappointed will take away 18 people.
• The client will tell five friends about a successful purchase.
• About a bad purchase - 10 friends.
• A thousandth blogger will tell all his subscribers (1000 or more potential consumers) about you. Subsequent reposts will be a plus. Among your consumers there may be trainers, consultants, information businessmen who may have more than 100 thousand subscribers.
• According to research, 68% of consumers leave because of a rude attitude.

Knowing how much it costs to attract a new consumer, what profit it will bring, it is easier to think about improving customer service. Gathering statistical information will help you understand at what stage a business is malfunctioning.

• If there are very few potential consumers, then this may be due to the fact that they cannot find your company or they are simply uncomfortable looking for you. Change the advertisement, place a more understandable route map.
• If there are enough potential consumers, but few purchases are made, the problem here is poor product layout, prices, and employees. It turns out that people are uncomfortable or unpleasant to buy.

By thinking in this direction and correcting mistakes in customer service, you can raise both business and service to a higher level.

What to do. Try to calculate the firm's conversion rate. This is done by installing a visitor counter (its cost is from 4500 rubles, there are also automatic models). You can find out how many potential buyers came, and you already know the number of purchases and the average check.

Then you can build a sales funnel. Count how many people pass by your outlet and how many directly enter. The totality of these numbers will give an idea of ​​the quality of advertising, the attractiveness of the appearance of the store, the convenience of the entrance. The ratio of the number of those who made a purchase to the number of those who just came in will indicate the convenience of purchasing, the quality of the display of goods, the length of the queue at the checkout, etc. Knowing these indicators, you can plan the further development of the company.

3. Positive communication

Nobody likes gloomy salespeople. Set the tone for the work so that the spirit of optimism is maintained in the organization. People involuntarily gravitate toward the benevolent, energetic, and successful. This should especially apply to those who directly interact with people - sellers, employees of the trading floor.

Politeness, respect for etiquette and courtesy also help win over others.

What to do. Start with yourself. Be smiling, easy to make contact. Try to show genuine interest in people. Recommend subordinates to read the books of Dale Carnegie and periodically test employees for knowledge of the basic techniques described by this psychologist.

4. Reach out to the customer more often

Be flexible in dealing with people. Many problems can be avoided if you approach them outside the box. Don't create conflict over trifles, and a satisfied customer will bring you more profit later on.

Stress resistance will help you in difficult situations. In the midst of a tense conversation, nothing helps more than a clear mind and calm, confident speech.

What to do. Give subordinates the order to resolve disputes in favor of the consumer, for example, within 150-200 rubles.

5. Take the initiative

If it becomes clear to you that delivery deadlines are being missed, do not wait until the last. Call the supplier as soon as you find out about the problem, offer a couple of ways to solve it. This will make your counterparties value you as a professional and your firm as genuinely interested in customer satisfaction and caring about partners.

What to do. Try to follow the course of events a few steps ahead. This will help you get out of difficult situations with dignity. Playing ahead of the curve is something without which the best customer service is impossible.

6. Keep your word

There are very few people in business today who keep their word. If you prove yourself as responsible and keeping your promises, you will be trusted, you will be equal. And this is the key to success and an effective method for improving customer service.

What to do. Start small. For example, at the request of customers, you can open a store 10 minutes before the official opening, and close 10 minutes later than the time indicated on the sign. This will show that you keep your promises and increase the goodwill towards you and your company.

7. Don't stop there

Creating high-level customer service is like growing a garden. At first, this is hard, thankless work with no visible results: it is necessary to clear the site, level the soil, plant and fertilize trees. Then follows the stage when the first fruits appear, they can be eaten, they bring pleasure to everyone. But to get a stable harvest, you need to regularly care for it, water it, cut dry branches. So it is in customer service: first, you need to make serious efforts to create a system. Then the first results will appear. The final goal is to achieve a permanent effect, to create such a system that it works without failures, and the staff knows the exact direction of development.

What to do. Develop a plan for implementing customer service. Don't grab everything at once. Do step by step work. For example, start with greetings and smiles to customers. Thus, gradually the whole company will begin to follow this. And then move on to the next step. After a while, reread this article again.

It would seem that simple rules together give an excellent result. But there is one caveat: all of them must be applied systematically, regularly, not sparing yourself and not postponing the matter to another day. The best customer service is the sum of all the little things that increase customer loyalty to your company.

• Managing stress in an organization: what a leader should know

Expert opinion

Low Cost Ways to Improve Customer Service

Ekaterina Prikhodko,

General Director of Ledokol LLC, Krasnodar

Today, firms are spending more and more money on improving customer service, marketing strategy, customer focus. In industries where there is fierce competition, costs can be 50-70% of the level of trade. But inexpensive ways to increase customer loyalty and sales should not be ignored. Here are a few options for how you can do this.

Controlling SMS. One radio station in Siberia offered its customers a kind of SMS control of commercials. So, five minutes before the start of the broadcast of the video, a message was sent to the client with a reminder to listen to it. The next message came after to confirm the release of the advertisement. This method created the image of a worthy counterparty for the radio station, which is attentive to its customers.

Warming SMS helps expand the client flow. One photography services company used a very unusual marketing ploy. In the event that it is not possible to conclude an agreement with a potential customer, an SMS is sent to him: “Dear (consumer name), we are sure that your wedding will be the most stylish and unforgettable.” The attention and the shown care inclined the client to cooperation with this firm.

National Features. One firm located in the North Caucasus offered buyers of standard kitchens the installation of a second or third for free.

Rating of client emoticons. One restaurant printed five emoticons on their checks, ranging from the most dissatisfied to the most satisfied. Outraged visitors were given a 10% discount, a little upset - 5%, those who remained indifferent could not leave a tip, and the most satisfied customer service and cuisine were offered to leave a tip of 5-10% (at their discretion). This approach pleasantly surprises visitors, and also stimulates staff to serve better.

Blog Show. The Vladivostok market of components for trucks is very competitive. One firm organized a whole blog show. To begin with, the client's call to the service was recorded verbatim. Then the problem was diagnosed and the appropriate repair work was carried out. After that, photographs were taken so that the whole process was clearly visible from the moment of contact to the completion of the repair. All this information was posted on the corporate blog. Reports like these increased customer traffic by almost 10%.

Discount for friends. A company in Volgograd that organizes business trips has launched a campaign - additional discounts and bonuses if family members or colleagues travel with the client. Consumers quickly shared the news with their contacts, allowing the group to travel two weeks before the scheduled date.

Client Seminars. One large organization working in the field of furniture fittings holds customer seminars every three months. At the event, communication with regulatory authorities and consumers takes place, issues of hiring employees and so on are discussed. This firm managed to increase the average amount of contracts by almost 27% in a year.

Information about experts

Alexey Zvir, director of ZEVS LLC, Uryupinsk, Volgograd region. OOO "ZEVS" Year of creation: 2008. Number of stores: 2. Area: 100 and 200 m2. Staff: 30 people. Turnover and profit: not disclosed.

Ekaterina Prikhodko, CEO, Icebreaker, Krasnodar. Certified Business Sales Coach. Specialization: sales. On sale since 1999. An expert in the field of sales, building sales systems, trade and marketing technologies. Author of projects for the sales departments of Bodrisar, Black Sea Financial Company, Stucco Decors.

Andrey Voynov, marketing director of Invitro company. "Invitro"- the largest private medical clinic in Russia. Founded in 1995. Field of activity - medical research. The company's retail network includes more than 800 offices in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Hello! In this article, we will talk about customer acquisition strategies.

Today you will learn:

1. How to organize the search and attraction of customers;
2. What customer acquisition strategies exist;
3. How to retain existing customers;
4. How to calculate the cost of one attracted buyer.

We draw up a portrait of the client

The first thing we need to do before we start developing a customer acquisition strategy is to understand who your customer is.

There is a technique for compiling a portrait of a company's client. Don't worry, you won't have to describe each of your customers. As a rule, the company is limited to 5-10 portraits.

In order to create a portrait of a client, it is necessary to single out several segments in the total population that would differ from each other in terms of purchasing behavior: purchase motive, consumption method, and others.

Now you have to describe each selected segment as an independent individual client.

The factors you need to determine to get a portrait will vary depending on the market and the product you offer.

However, we can highlight the main factors that will be useful for any company: gender, age, hobbies, marital status, needs, goals.

Now that we have portraits, we can start developing a strategy for each client (segment).

Types of customer acquisition strategies

There are many classifications of strategies, but we will analyze the most general and, in our opinion, useful. Depending on how sales will be made, customer acquisition strategies are divided into passive and active.

passive strategy.

Assumes remote marketing attraction to the point of sale. In this case, the client comes in for a specific product. This allows for salespeople who have little to no effect on sales.

But there are also disadvantages. I assume a large expenditure of funds for and others. The customer must constantly hear about your product in order to remember it in the store and take it.

Also, passive sales do not imply a close relationship with the client, which means that a repeat purchase will take place only if the organization continues to actively promote.

active strategy.

It involves the active actions of sellers to ensure sales. The search for buyers falls on the shoulders of sellers, which makes your sales dependent on the subjective factor.

A good example of active sales is when a seller calls potential buyers from an existing database and offers his product.

In contrast, one can cite an example when a seller calls customers who have independently left an application for the purchase of any product. This is an example of passive selling.

Comparison of strategies.

The choice of this or that strategy depends on the following factors: brand presence, product, customers, distribution policy.

In the table, we will indicate which of the strategies is suitable for each specific case.

	Brand	Distribution policy	Clients	Product
Passive	Strong brand	Mass distribution, goods can be purchased at almost every outlet	Do not have a large supply of free time, do not tend to make long choices, spend money easily	A simple mass consumption product, no need for after-sales service
Active	Possible weak brand	Selective or exclusive distribution	They prefer not to scatter money, compare for a long time, choose	Sophisticated, high-tech product, exclusive goods

How to keep a client

Your customer retention strategy also depends on who exactly your customer is, so when defining customer retention tools, you should again refer to our portraits.

In fact, the retention strategy involves the use of, which will force the buyer to buy products only from you.

The most common of these tools are various loyalty cards. Loyalty cards are especially relevant for companies that independently sell their products or are engaged in retail.

Loyalty programs can be chosen for almost any client.

We present and describe some of them:

• Cumulative bonus card - allows you to accumulate bonuses from purchases and spend them on purchases in the same store;
• Standard discount or discount cards - provide the owner with a certain discount on each purchase;
• Privileged buyer card - the owner of such a card receives special conditions of service at the point of sale, the opportunity to participate in closed promotions and sales, and much more.

A great way to attract new and retain old customers is the “bring a friend” promotion. In this case, you will kill two birds with one stone: you will attract a new buyer and “attach” an existing one.

In the business of attracting and retaining customers, company stories also work well.

How to attract a client

However, I would like to say a few words about the most effective and free methods of attracting new customers:

• partnership. The essence of this method is mutual assistance in promoting the products of partner companies. In this case, you do not have to spend your money on advertising. An example of the application of this method is the partnership of the Sunlight jewelry store with popular supermarkets, when when buying a certain amount in the supermarket, the client received a coupon for a gift in the jewelry store. The most important thing when using this promotion tool is to choose a partner whose target audience will match yours;
• News publications. Write about your product and company, shoot videos, draw pictures, in general, create content and negotiate free publication with a variety of online media. This is how most PR agencies work. To successfully implement this method, you should create content that will be interesting and useful for your target audience, as well as choose sites for publication that your target audience reads.

It is possible to understand whether certain expenses for promotion are expedient with the help of simple calculations. How exactly to produce them, we will consider a little later. And now we will touch on other elements of marketing, which are also included in the strategy for attracting and retaining customers.

Product.

Yes, sometimes the customer acquisition strategy also affects this element of marketing. But as a rule, product changes do not affect its core benefits, but rather the so-called “soft” aspects: packaging, delivery process, after-sales service.

For example, in Moscow, a hairdresser-bar has been operating for several years, which gained its popularity only after the addition of drinks and food to customer service.

Sales system.

Depending on the specifics of the product and the preferences of the target audience, you can choose a mass, selective or exclusive distribution policy. The first is suitable for a passive customer acquisition strategy, while the selective and exclusive approach is suitable for an active strategy.

Price is one of the most important elements of marketing. In the near future, products will be of the same high quality, which new production technologies allow, and the purchase decision will be made only on the basis of price.

Today it is necessary to adhere to the golden rule - the price should correspond to the quality of the product, and the quality and price should correspond to your target audience.

You can attract consumers using price methods to stimulate sales: discounts, promotions, gifts for purchases. But before you put into practice this or that method, you should calculate the benefit that you will receive from it. We will now look at how to do this.

How to calculate customer acquisition cost

There is such an indicator of efficiency as the cost of one attracted client. It shows how much money was spent on attracting one person who made a purchase from you. The indicator is an average.

So, the formula for calculating the cost of attracting a buyer:

Costs of marketing activities (excluding wages) / number of buyers.

This calculation formula is considered simplified and is used only to obtain a general idea of ​​the appropriateness of a particular advertising campaign. Also, this method gives an idea of ​​what costs are required for personnel when using a particular attraction tool.

The second formula for determining the cost per customer:

Total acquisition cost/number of buyers.

In the second case, we take into account the total costs that were incurred to attract a buyer.

You should calculate the cost of attracting a buyer before you have determined this or that acquisition strategy. You should choose the strategy that, in theory, will allow you to attract the maximum number of buyers at the minimum cost.

The most interesting thing about the calculation of the cost of attracting a client is that the expediency of costs is determined by the client. After all, an attracted consumer can buy an inexpensive product from you once, or he can buy often and a lot.

That is why experts have introduced such a thing as customer lifetime value (LCC).

PSK - the entire set of purchases made by the consumer for the entire period of cooperation with the company.

It's no secret that most visitors visit a particular site only once. The lion's share of users do not even remember the name of the online store where they make a purchase. Obviously, in such a situation, they will not recommend it to friends, and they themselves are unlikely to return in due course, except perhaps only by chance.

Therefore, an important task of Internet marketing is to retain current site visitors - turning them from new to regular ones. In what ways can this be done? I will try to list only some of the options for an information site and an online store.

Information site

1) RSS

Subscribing to RSS is mandatory today, as many people prefer to receive information about site updates in this way. At the same time, I am not saying that it is necessary to give out the entire article in RSS, as blogs do. But at least it's worth making an announcement. That being said, it's important that people see that you have an RSS feed. It is necessary to place a noticeable icon on the site that will attract the attention of those users who use this functionality.

2) Latest updates inTwitter

Twitter to inform you about updates to the site. Many users today use twitter as a replacement for rss. This is convenient, and most importantly, it’s simple in terms of connection, and third-party programs and services are not needed to track updates on the site if the user is already using twitter.

3) Groups inFacebook and VKontakte

Some users find it more convenient to keep track of updates on sites using social networks. To do this, you need to create a group, recruit an audience and broadcast information about updates. You can promote a group by posting informers about it on your site, as most do.

For information sites, this method is becoming less and less popular. However, there is still a group of people who prefer to receive information about site updates via e-mail. They should not be neglected.

5) Widgets

Placing widgets on third-party resources can be the right move. Firstly, it will attract new visitors, and secondly, the old ones will track updates or any other information about your resource from their site.

Online store

When working with an online store, the same tools are used in many respects as with an information site, but the approach to using them is somewhat different.

One of the main tools for an online store to work with existing customers. The mailing in this case may include recommendations for new products, according to the preferences of the client (the list of his past purchases, views of product categories is analyzed). In addition, these may be new store specials. In general, things that can really interest people.

2) Live microblogging inTwitter

If in the case of an information site, you can use twitter as a simple update feed, then this approach will not work for an online store. Here you need to make a live blog that will talk about promotions, hold contests, communicate with customers, resolve conflicts, track complaints, and so on. By the way, on the topic of twitter, you can read articles on my blog: “