The COVID-19 pandemic has upturned the world and reorganized the way we do business. Business owners are struggling to keep up with the uncertain economy. It is clear that this pandemic will continue to leave a lasting impact on the digital marketing world. While much of the world is still in quarantine, it’s more critical than ever for businesses to keep in touch with customers. Below are 8 smart customer retention strategies to drive customer loyalty and boost customer retention rates during COVID-19.

1. Offer virtual products or services

Convert your products or services into virtual offerings. Technologies like telemedicine and video conferencing software have made it possible for businesses to continue connecting with their existing customers virtually. For example, some cosmetics businesses have started offering virtual services over video chat, walking their clients through DIY makeup ideas.

Analyze your business to see how you can use technology to continue supporting your loyal customers remotely.

2. Engage through social media

Worldwide, there were 3.8 billion social media users in January 2020. This figure increased more than 9% and gained 321 million new users in the past year alone. Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have changed the way brands communicate with their customers. These social media platforms are where your customers are most comfortable. They leave reviews, discuss buying decisions, and express their opinions on your business.

Here are the three New (or New-to-You) Ways to Engage Your Audience Today. || Contact our Digital Marketing specialist to learn how you can increase your retention rate and close sales.

Construct a social media strategy to reach your customer base on every social platform. You can use this approach to learn more about your customers’ actions, understand their preferences, and respond to their reviews. Keep in mind that engaging with your customers through social media is not about advertising. The last thing they want is for you to shove your ads down their throats. Your goal is to create valuable contributions and nurture a lasting customer relationship.

3. Concentrate on short-term actions that reflect the new reality

Customers are showing little interest in making long-term commitments in these pandemic times. Focusing on short-term actions, promotions, and offers is crucial for this exact reason.

If you typically offer long-term contracts only, think about what temporary promotional marketing you can offer customers that will still meet their needs. It might take some ingenuity, but it will benefit your company in the end, because your customers will see that you can adapt to their needs.

4. Add an element of surprise

Adding an unexpected element helps keep things interesting and keeps your customers engaged. Think about how your brand and company fit into people’s lives right now.

Think about:

What’s the best way for us to engage right now?
What are some creative ways I can communicate with and please my audience?
How can I interact with them where they are?

5. Refurbish your website

COVID-19 is on everyone’s minds at this moment. When customers visit your web store, they will be seeking information about what you are doing in response to the crisis, whether you are still open, how you’re selling, how your services have been affected, and so on. Help your customers out by providing clear, concise, up-to-date information letting them know how they can shop with you and what to expect. FAQs make for an ideal format for people looking for specific information, quickly, and are also convenient and straightforward to keep customers up to date.

In addition, consider opening this up to more general tips and advice – tips for shopping online for people who are more used to going into a store, advice on staying safe if they have to head out, the latest on self-isolating, and social distancing. Make sure the information you provide is kept current based on the latest recommendations from the CDC and local governments.

Read our new blog on how digital marketers can generate demand in 2020’s ‘new normal’ (Part I) || Sign up today for the latest news about your Digital Transformation.

6. Nurture with gift cards

Gift cards and vouchers provide you with an immediate infusion of cash and guarantee more repeat customers. For businesses where margins are slim, gift cards can help you stay afloat until the crisis passes.

For instance, customers in Seattle are going out of their way to make sure local cafes, bars, and eateries don’t go under, and gift cards provide an easy way to keep the cash flow moving. Offer an e-gift card program to reduce the risk of human contact, or work with a third-party delivery partner like Uber Eats to accept their gift cards at your location.

7. Use discounts to your advantage

This is a good time to entice long-term purchases with discounts. If it aligns with your business model, encourage new customers to lock in a one-year membership now at a cheaper rate. If you are a retailer, consider offering free or discounted shipping for online orders. Help other small businesses in your area by offering a 10% discount if a customer brings in a recent receipt from another small merchant. Not only will this improve customer experience, it will also boost customer acquisition.

8. Communicate your company’s value

It is important to communicate your value to your existing customers. Instead of filling their inboxes with generic emails about how “we’re all in this together,” limit your communication to valuable insights that can help them during this time of need. Providing valuable resources is a great way to remind your customers that you are there to help them – that’s the bottom line.

Get Help from Our Experts

Over the past 20years, we have completed thousands of digital projects globally. We have one of the largest and deepest multi-solutions digital consulting teams in the world. Our proprietary processes and years of Digital Experience expertise have earned us a 97% customer satisfaction rating with our clients ranging from Global Fortune 1000 to Mid-Market Enterprises, leading educational institutions, and Non-Profits.

DesignRush has recognized TA Digital as a top Marketing Analytics Agency.

About TA Digital

TA Digital is the only global boutique agency that delivers the “best of both worlds” to clients seeking to achieve organizational success through digital transformation. Unlike smaller, regional agencies that lack the ability to scale or large organizations that succumb to a quantity-over-quality approach, we offer resource diversity while also providing meticulous attention to the details that enable strategic success.

Over the past 20 years, TA Digital has positioned clients to achieve digital maturity by focusing on data, customer-centricity, and exponential return on investment; by melding exceptional user experience and data-driven methodologies with artificial intelligence and machine learning, we enable digital transformations that intelligently build upon the strategies we set into motion. We are known as a global leader that assists marketing and technology executives in understanding the digital ecosystem while identifying cultural and operational gaps within their business – ultimately ushering organizations toward a more mature model and profitable digital landscape.

Recognized in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, TA Digital is pleased also to share high-level strategic partnerships with world class digital experience platform companies like Adobe, SAP, Acquia, commercetools, Sitecore, and Elastic Path.

WRITTEN BY:

Raja Shekar Reddy Chavva