Feature Article - September 2008
This month we’ll take a look at another customer service buzz phrase “customer retention”. Customer retention is often used to refer to strategies employed by organisations to ensure that the keep their existing customers while trying to acquire new ones.
The true measure of customer retention should come from the following key factors: are you getting repeat business from the customers, do they buy your add-on products, are they happy to recommend you to their families and friends or do they do these things because they have no better choice? When an organisation is able to place high marks beside these questions then it may consider itself being on the right part.
For an organisation to have an effective customer retention programme in place it must routinely offer training to key customer facing staff, sharpening their customer service skills along with emphasising their value proposition as an organisation.
A relevant question is how do we as individuals contribute and ensure that the organisation is indeed scoring high marks against these questions; we must focus on giving consistent and excellent customer service, utilise any up sell or cross sell opportunities that come our way during any customer interactions. Also politely ask existing customers for referrals, when the opening emerges during our interactions.
All these things are necessary on your part as CSR’s because the bottom line remains that the customer pays the bills. Any pay rise or personal development you require from the organisation will only come easily if the organisation has a healthy balance sheet.
Tags: cross-sell, customer retention, up-sell