Today loyalty often goes unrewarded. When was the last time you got a great deal on your home insurance for sticking with the same provider for five years or received a free gift from your bank simply for putting your money in their hands since you started work? Exactly. In a society where the gain is focused around new business, loyal clients often get overlooked.

Yet the average business can lose up to 20% of its customers a year, as a result of failure to nurture valuable relationships.

It’s a proven fact that it is cheaper to retain an existing customer than secure a new one, so it makes good business sense to reward customer loyalty, especially as going above and beyond for your customers is more likely to result in repeat business.

So here are our top tips for customer retention:-

• Stay in touch – it is simple and cost effective to devise a frequent calendar of communications so you can touch base regularly with your clients – emails, follow up phone calls, thank you cards and gifts all demonstrate a personal touch. It doesn’t have to be costly to acknowledge your clients, make them feel valued and reinforce the reason they are doing business with you.

• Make it personal – you don’t always need a special occasion to send a well-considered gift to your clients, just thanking them for their continued support, wishing them an enjoyable stay or saying ‘thank you for choosing us’ provides you with a great opportunity to retain loyalty.

• Get to know your customers – we all like to feel valued so it pays to take an interest in your customers and their business or personal goals. For example, an estate agent who knows their clients have been saving for some time, sacrificing travel or socialising to put down the deposit on their first home, may like to send a box of luxury chocolates complete with branding and printed gift card to welcome them on moving-in day.  And if your service has been top notch, there’s a good chance they’ll pass on that card as a referral.

• Anticipate problems that might occur – this way you can eliminate any issues before they turn into a problem. For example, warning your customers in advance of any delays they might encounter with your service or simply sending a text or email reminder that an invoice will be sent in a few days so it doesn’t come as a surprise.

• Listen to your customers – whether you do this by engaging on social media or providing surveys or questionnaires for your clients to complete, by getting a better understanding of how they are experiencing your products or services you can tailor future offers and service improvements to help you retain their business.

Using gifts to retain clients

A small, well-chosen corporate gift is a simple and cost-effective way to help you retain good customers, especially as it reminds them why they chose to work with you.  And when you send someone a personalised gift it’s likely to reinforce their desire to purchase your products or services again.   With alternative suppliers constantly competing for their business, a carefully considered gift can show your customers just how much their business means to you.

Why choose luxury chocolates?

Chocolates make a fantastic client appreciation gift as, not only can you reinforce your business identity through the use of branded packaging, but you can deliver something with a personal touch – an attribute often overlooked in our virtually-connected world.

Chouchoute has created a stunning selection of handmade luxury chocolates, beautifully presented in a wide choice of gift boxes, branded for your business. So to retain the loyalty of your clients simply give us a call on 0121 314 3472.  We’ll provide all the advice you need and can even send you samples of our chocolates and packaging to review with your team.