{"id":7831,"date":"2020-07-01T19:09:50","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T19:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/?p=7831"},"modified":"2025-03-13T06:25:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:25:33","slug":"customer-retention-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-retention-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Running a promotion is not a customer retention program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You know that customer retention is important.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve read the stats, you\u2019ve seen the case studies, and you\u2019ve experienced firsthand how hard it is to acquire a new customer compared to keeping one around. For many companies, it\u2019s a really important customer service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-service-objectives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">objective<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So, how do you do it? Well, there are a number of customer retention programs you could try.<\/p>\n<p>But if you run a small business, you\u2019re going to need to be budget-conscious\u2014and time-conscious. You don\u2019t have millions to blow on customer retention like Starbucks or Amazon.<\/p>\n<p>So, we\u2019re going to show you eight customer retention programs that small businesses can pull off, even if they don\u2019t have a huge budget and even if their customer retention \u201cdepartment\u201d is one person\u2014along with a few examples of how real-life small businesses are using them.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll go over:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#What elements a customer retention program needs\">What elements a customer retention program needs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#8 customer retention program that small businesses can run\">8 customer retention program that small businesses can run<\/a>\n<ol style=\"padding-top: 10px;\">\n<li><a href=\"#The \u201csurprise and delight\u201d program\">The \u201csurprise and delight\u201d program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#The employee support program\">The employee support program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#The follow-up program\">The follow-up program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#The win-back program for lost customers\">The win-back program for lost customers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#The customer onboarding program\">The customer onboarding program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#The social media retention program\">The social media retention program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#The customer feedback program\">The customer feedback program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#The customer loyalty program\">The customer loyalty program<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But before we get into specific examples of retention programs, let\u2019s look at all the moving parts that make up a customer retention program<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">How customer-obsessed is your business? Take the quiz. \ud83d\udc9a<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/documents\/quiz_how_customer_obsessed_your_business.pdf\" data-id=\"6a09efe242007\" id=\"6a09efe242007\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:6a09efe242007.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83c\udf1f Want to provide better customer service?<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udc40 Ready to see how your business stacks up? <\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Take the quiz\">Take the quiz<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:6a09efe242007.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy the quiz! <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"What elements a customer retention program needs\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What elements does a customer retention program need?<\/h2>\n<p>Before choosing a customer retention plan for your business, you first need to know a few things. For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How many people do you need to run this program?<\/li>\n<li>What tools or software do you need?<\/li>\n<li>How will you measure success? What kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-service-kpi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KPIs<\/a> will you use?<\/li>\n<li>How long should you run this program for? (Some retention programs are ongoing, others can be planned to run for a quarter or a year at a time.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you want a proper program and not some fluffy \u201ctips\u201d that sound fun but are light on tangibles, then we\u2019d suggest starting here. (Seriously. If you\u2019re looking for customer retention tips and someone tells you to \u201cshare your mission,\u201d run.)<\/p>\n<p>One of the neat things about customer retention programs is that they can be implemented at any point in the customer journey, from when someone first becomes a customer through to when they\u2019ve been with your company for, say, a few years and you\u2019re at risk of losing them.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll be going through a mix of these\u2014let\u2019s get into some retention program ideas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to provide better customer service? Grab the free guide on building a modern customer service strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/documents\/engage_digital_insights_ebook.pdf\" data-id=\"6a09efe2421b0\" id=\"6a09efe2421b0\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:6a09efe2421b0.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">Get it now<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udc4d Want to start building a modern customer service strategy? Check out this guide.<\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get it now\">Get it now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:6a09efe2421b0.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy! \ud83c\udf89<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"8 customer retention program that small businesses can run\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>8 customer retention programs that small businesses can run<\/h2>\n<p><a name=\"The \u201csurprise and delight\u201d program\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>1. The \u201csurprise and delight\u201d program<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Minimum 1<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b>A spreadsheet (basic) or a CRM for logging customer details (more expensive, but ultimately makes your life easier) like birthdays and preferences that will come in handy when you\u2019re choosing a gift<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-retention-rate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customer retention rates<\/a>; qualitatively, your customers\u2019 positive messages and feedback are also useful to look at (and it\u2019ll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/improving-employee-morale\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">boost employee morale<\/a> too)<\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for?<\/b> Ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Humans are fascinating creatures. We can be out of contact with a friend or colleague for weeks, even months\u2014but something as simple as a birthday card or thoughtful email once a year can somehow bring back those feelings of fondness and nostalgia.<\/p>\n<p>And most of the time, that\u2019s enough to maintain a positive relationship (until the next year, when we do it all again). It\u2019s kind of like taking care of your car and keeping it in good shape for the long haul by taking it in for regular maintenance twice a year.<\/p>\n<p>As a method of retaining your customers, a \u201csurprise and delight\u201d program works in very much the same way. How can you do something unexpected for a customer to make their day? That\u2019s one of the easiest ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-expectations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exceed customer expectations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/b><\/div>\n<p>Implement your \u201csurprise and delight\u201d program <i>before <\/i>a customer comes to you with problems. There are other ways to exceed expectations, of course, but this is much easier compared to a situation where your customer is having problems with your product or service and you have to salvage that issue. (That\u2019s a lot more work, not to mention your customer will probably already be in a bad mood.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to get too fancy here. Your program could be as simple as making a note in your CRM of when your customer\u2019s birthday or anniversary is, then create a notification in there (or in your calendar) so that you know to send them a small gift when that date rolls around.<\/p>\n<p>For example, here\u2019s how you do it in AgileCRM:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-43782\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/agilecrms-surprise-and-delight-program-1024x408.png\" alt=\"agilecrm's surprise and delight program\" width=\"1024\" height=\"408\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Once you have this information recorded, you can even hook up your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/best-customer-service-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer service program<\/a> with your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/communication-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communication tool<\/a> to easily make calls right from your screen.<\/p>\n<p>Taking our AgileCRM example, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/apps\/agile-crm-ringcentral\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">integrate it with RingCentral<\/a> to dial your customer from your AgileCRM dashboard and wish them a happy birthday. No more having to pick up the phone and do that manually:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/apps\/agile-crm-ringcentral\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7836 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image1-229-1024x562.png\" alt=\"AgileCRM and RingCentral integration\" width=\"840\" height=\"461\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you really want to go the extra mile (birthdays are probably the most commonly exploited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-appreciation-ideas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer appreciation<\/a> idea, after all), you can add an extra step to your program: have your salespeople and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">support<\/a> team diligently record notes of <i>every<\/i> customer conversation in your CRM. This way, whenever little details like \u201cOh yeah, I\u2019ve been meaning to try X beer\u201d or \u201cY has the most amazing donuts in town\u201d crop up, your team (not just the one person who had that conversation with the customer) can use that information to send a nice gift when the right time comes.<br \/>\n<a name=\"The employee support program\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>2. The employee support program<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Minimum 1 (could just be you, if you have the authority to approve the budget for investing in your employees)<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/employee-engagement-apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Engagement apps<\/a> for your employees; the right hardware or gear (like phones, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/best-bluetooth-headsets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">headsets<\/a>, or computers)<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> Qualitative feedback from employees; how they\u2019re doing on productivity <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/productivity-metrics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">metrics<\/a><\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for?<\/b> Ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One of the most important factors that contribute to an awesome customer experience (and customer retention) is your employee experience.<\/p>\n<p>Happy and well-equipped employees with in-depth customer retention training are going to be a lot more effective at keeping customers than employees who don\u2019t have the tools they need or didn\u2019t get any training at all.<\/p>\n<p>Your employee support program can be as basic or complex as you need it to be. Does every new employee get the same type of phone or laptop with the same tools so that everyone\u2019s using the same software? Your program could also include a training session to get your new hires up to speed on how the business runs, how you sell your product or service, how your customer service team runs\u2026 the list goes on.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at equipping employees with the right tools as a part of this program, as an example.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/whyringcentral\/casestudies\/mhps.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here\u2019s how MHP&amp;S does it.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Backstory: Businesses in every industry should care about customer and client experience\u2014but law firms in particular are sticklers about this. (You could even argue that a huge part of the product that law firms are selling consists of the client experience.)<\/p>\n<p>Sean Martin, one of MHP&amp;S\u2019s founding partners, understands that law is in many ways a service-based business. And often, clients expect to be able to reach their attorneys beyond the 9 to 5 hours.<\/p>\n<p>But no matter how late lawyers stay at their offices, they don\u2019t <i>live<\/i> there. They still need to go home sometimes. So how can they be accessible to their clients outside of office hours?<\/p>\n<p>Well, communication is a key piece of the law firm\u2013client experience. So, Sean makes sure that his team has the right communication tools for the job.<\/p>\n<p>With the RingCentral app, MHP&amp;S\u2019 attorneys can use their personal cell phones\u2014except the number that shows up is the law firm\u2019s business number. That means they can use one phone for both personal and business use while maintaining their privacy. That creates a better experience for your employees. Happier employees, better customer experience overall.<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cThe bottom line is we\u2019re a service business, and to be outstanding, we need the right tools to allow us to be accessible and able to get our work done no matter where we are,\u201d says Sean. \u201cWhether it\u2019s taking a call from an anxious client while we\u2019re on the road, holding internal video conferences with our attorneys at both offices to discuss upcoming cases, or just jumping on our team messaging platform to make sure someone is covering court on Tuesday, RingCentral lets us do it all\u201d:<\/i><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe style=\"padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vGSZfDIHmso\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/center><i>\u201cI don\u2019t see how we could have earned the reputation we have for client service without a solution like this.\u201d<\/i><br \/>\n<a name=\"The follow-up program\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>3. The follow-up program<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Ideally 1\u20132 (to set up the follow-ups\u2014whether it\u2019s through email or texting or phone calls\u2014and also to do the actual follow-ups if they need to be done manually)<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b>A <a class=\"waffle-rich-text-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/lp\/small-business-phone-service.html\">business phone servic<\/a>e that includes outbound calling and texting features and\/or email software<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> Number of responses to follow-ups (can be in the form of messages or action taken by customers in response to what you\u2019re asking them to do in the follow-up)<\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for?<\/b> Ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Following up with customers at the right time is one of the most important steps in the customer retention process. Not only are you showing the customer that you\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/definitions\/proactive-customer-service\/\">proactively<\/a> taking the step to make sure they\u2019re happy with their purchase, it also implies that you stand behind your product and are invested in this relationship and their success.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s see how Rx Valet does it.<\/p>\n<p>Rx Valet is a convenient online service that delivers your medication right to you. It\u2019s also an online pharmacy-benefits manager that works with insurers to get the best prices for patients who need medications and medical equipment. And they\u2019ve mastered the art of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-follow-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">follow-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Namely, through text messages. Refill reminders for prescriptions are important for two reasons: one, to keep patients healthy, and two, to help pharmacies retain customers.<\/p>\n<p>But people can be particular about how they want these refill reminders. As Bob Thompson, Rx Valet\u2019s IT Director, has discovered, texting is the way to go. Why? Because today, many people won\u2019t answer a call from an unfamiliar number\u2014but they do check their text messages faithfully.<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cGetting people to reorder is important because we want to retain customers,\u201d <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/whyringcentral\/casestudies\/advanced-diabetic-solutions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>he says<\/i><\/a><i>, \u201cAnd SMS saves us from having to try to get them on the phone, which is next to impossible.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p>An additional service Rx Valet plans to offer is to send patients scheduled reminders when they are supposed to take their medicines. That service will be offered as an additional convenience to members, building loyalty to the service.<br \/>\n<a name=\"The win-back program for lost customers\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>4. The win-back program for lost customers<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Minimum 1<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b>A CRM and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/find-best-phone-service-for-small-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">phone system<\/a> or an email software<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> Number of customers who buy from you again after having stopped for a certain length of time<\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for? <\/b>Varies; can be a one-off or ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Depending on your business and industry, win-back programs could look very different.<\/p>\n<p>If you find that you\u2019ve been losing a significant number of customers, this is definitely an option you should look into. Of course, you can\u2019t take any action to \u201cwin back\u201d customers if you can\u2019t contact them. Win-back programs tend to be better for businesses that operate mostly online.<\/p>\n<p>For brick-and-mortar businesses, this is a lot harder to execute, unless you\u2019re a high-touch or luxury business that has a really tight relationship with your customers (to the point where you\u2019re regularly in contact with them over the phone or email). For example, a neighborhood pet store might call a customer when a shipment of their dog\u2019s favorite brand of food or treats just came in.<\/p>\n<p>To launch your win-back retention program, first define a set length of time after which you\u2019ll consider your customers \u201clost.\u201d Again, this is easier if you\u2019re an online business, since you can see when customers cancel their subscriptions. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/online-customer-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Online<\/a> customer service is just easier in general to track.) Then, set up an email or phone call campaign to contact those customers and try to entice them to come back:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7838\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7838\" style=\"width: 588px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7838 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image4-153.png\" alt=\"A funny, kind-of-sad, and maybe effective email from Seeso that is both a longing goodbye and also a clever way of collecting feedback to help them learn what they can do better to avoid losing other subscribers in the future.\" width=\"588\" height=\"1999\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A funny, kind-of-sad, and maybe effective email from Seeso that is both a longing goodbye and also a clever way of collecting feedback to help them learn what they can do better to avoid losing other subscribers in the future. (More on this later in #7.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>If you have an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/engage\/engage-voice.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outbound contact center<\/a>, you can set up automated campaigns that are triggered by certain events. You can learn more about these, and other outbound strategies, here \ud83d\udc47:<\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/documents\/outbound_playbook.pdf\" data-id=\"6a09efe242303\" id=\"6a09efe242303\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:6a09efe242303.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83d\ude80  Grab the free outbound sales playbook<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udcf1 Get your team pitching, prospecting\u2014and closing\u2014with this free guide. <\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get it now\">Get it now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:6a09efe242303.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\"> \ud83c\udf89 Enjoy!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/b><\/div>\n<p>If you have an online store, you could set up an email campaign that automatically sends your customers a discount for coming back and buying from you. Depending on your sales cycle, that email could be triggered if a customer hasn\u2019t bought anything in a month or six months (or whenever you want).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a name=\"The customer onboarding program\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>5. The customer onboarding program<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Minimum 1 (to set up the emails or steps needed to onboard a new customer)<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b>If you\u2019re going the simple route, you could do something as simple as creating a PDF starter kit or an instructional manual\u2014no client retention software needed. If you\u2019re going the fancy route, you could set up an email onboarding program with email software like Mailchimp or even app tutorial software like Appcues<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> Depends on the program you\u2019re running. Could be the number of people who open your onboarding emails, number of people who visit your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/create-knowledge-base\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online knowledge base<\/a>, etc.<\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for?<\/b> Ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Just because someone has handed over their credit information and you\u2019ve got yourself a new customer doesn&#8217;t mean your work is done.<\/p>\n<p>In many ways, it\u2019s just started. (Sorry.)<\/p>\n<p>This is especially true if your business sells a product that\u2019s more complex or takes a while to learn. Software companies definitely fall into this bucket.<\/p>\n<p>Educational apps like Duolingo are another example of where a good onboarding program can really help with retention:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/daks2k3a4ib2z.cloudfront.net\/59d85b98aaa78100013e8eec\/5a450feb8192d400018ee802_duolingo-user-onboarding-5.gif\" width=\"1424\" height=\"743\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"The social media retention program\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>6. The social media retention program<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Minimum 1<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b>A social media management platform<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> Percentage of customer complaints or questions from social media channels resolved<\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for?<\/b> Ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Unless you\u2019re selling to a very specific group of people who don\u2019t use social media, your customers are probably on social media.<\/p>\n<p>And if you did something wrong, they\u2019re probably posting about it. Having a good social media retention program is super important. We\u2019re not just talking about having a social media profile here\u2014we\u2019re talking about an actual program that lets you track what people are saying about you, whether they @mention you or not, and more importantly, resolve questions as soon as humanly possible.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7840 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image6-103-482x400.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"482\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If your customers are complaining publicly on social media, chances are they\u2019ve tried other ways of contacting you and they couldn\u2019t find an answer to their problem. Your relationship is reaching the point of being on shaky ground (if it isn\u2019t already), and you have to be on top of these messages.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe style=\"padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PZC3o5YN90E\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/b><\/div>\n<p>If your business is on different social media platforms, then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/omnichannel-customer-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">omnichannel customer service<\/a> is the name of the game for you. Find a tool that consolidates your messages (like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/digital-customer-engagement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RingCentral Engage Digital\u2122<\/a>) from all these different channels onto one dashboard so that you can quickly see all the questions and complaints you\u2019re getting at a glance. This will make it easier to prioritize the ones where you\u2019ll really need to work your customer retention magic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a name=\"The customer feedback program\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>7. The customer feedback program<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Ideally 1\u20132 (to set up the program and also for ongoing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-experience-analytics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">analytics<\/a>, prioritization, and resolution of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-feedback\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">feedback<\/a> you\u2019re getting)<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">survey<\/a> tool and\/or email software\u2014some customer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-service-apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">service apps<\/a> come with features that let you collect feedback. Or you could go super lo-fi and have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/satisfaction-survey-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">survey questions<\/a> on notes or cards for your customers to fill out.<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> Response rate (the number of responses you get compared to the number of requests you sent to customers for feedback)<\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for?<\/b> Ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To actually retain customers, you first need to know <i>what<\/i> they like and don\u2019t like. (Basically, what you\u2019re doing right and doing wrong.)<\/p>\n<p>And to know <i>that <\/i>information, you need some way to get their feedback. Good news is, there are tons of tools for this and they\u2019re relatively easy to set up. SurveyMonkey and Typeform are two popular ones to look into.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7841\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7841\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-7841\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image2-200-1024x594.png\" alt=\"Typeform even comes with a useful insights dashboard that shows you how successful your survey was.\" width=\"840\" height=\"487\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7841\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Typeform even comes with a useful insights dashboard that shows you how successful your survey was.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/b><\/div>\n<p>Don\u2019t let those juicy insights from your customers go to waste. To really make this retention program work as effectively as possible, you have to show your customers that you\u2019re implementing that feedback too. What are you going to do about those complaints about your new menu items? Are you able to simplify how your app works so that people can pick it up more easily? Share the improvements you\u2019re making in emails to your customers and social media posts so that everyone can see that your business is responsive and actually walks the walk when it comes to taking feedback.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a name=\"The customer loyalty program\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>8. The customer loyalty program<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>How many people you need to run this program:<\/b> Minimum 1<\/li>\n<li><b>What tools or software do you need? <\/b>Stamp cards (or a tablet with loyalty software installed if you\u2019re fancy)<\/li>\n<li><b>How to measure success:<\/b> Number of signups; number of purchases attributable to the loyalty program (e.g., how many redemptions or points are your customers racking up?)<\/li>\n<li><b>How long should you run this program for?<\/b> Ongoing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are few businesses that are doing customer loyalty programs as well as boba (also known as bubble tea) shops.<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, collecting stamp cards (\u201cbuy 10, get 1 free!\u201d) were all the rage. You might still have one in your wallet somewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Today, almost every bubble tea place has a tablet sitting at the cashier, ready for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/return-customer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">returning customers<\/a> to enter your phone number or tap in order to earn points when you buy a drink. Tastea Fresh Smoothies and Tea has locations across California, and they\u2019re one of many shops that have moved to a digital rewards program:<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/b><\/div>\n<p>Need to keep your customers satisfied? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/how-to-increase-customer-satisfaction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here are 14 tips.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Which customer retention program(s) will you run?<\/h2>\n<p>If you need a full-on program to retain more customers, these eight examples give you a good mix of options that cover the customer lifecycle from beginning to end. (But hopefully you won\u2019t see the end of a customer relationship too often.)<\/p>\n<p>Even if you have only one person helping with customer retention programs or you can\u2019t invest in the technology quite yet, you can still run a basic version of many of these. Which one will you use?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<![CDATA[]]>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":43011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901,4],"tags":[743,18026,818,18588,15541,18165],"class_list":["post-7831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","category-customer-experience","tag-customer-experience","tag-customer-journey","tag-customer-retention","tag-customer-retention-program","tag-cx","tag-retention"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Running a promotion is not a customer retention program | RingCentral<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Giving away free stuff is not a customer retention program. 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