Customer loyalty is the key to business achievement. It results in increased brand loyalty, preference, and sustained profits. The more customers stay, the less you spend on acquiring new ones. This increases the return on investment by lowering customer acquisition cost(COCA).

So, how can you achieve customer loyalty? The answer is on CRM.

In this article, we will discuss an actual case of one of the CRM users in the logistics industry who has been able to retain 75% of their customers.

Retention of Customers over Time

Customer retention is important for all the business types:

• B2B (Business-to-Business)
• B2C (Business-to-Consumers)
• B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumers)

The companies demonstrate better customer retention rate. Investing in new customers generally costs more than selling to existing ones.

Such is the effort difference simply put:

• New customer acquisition = 80% effort
• Customer retention = 20% effort
• 20% effort turns into 100% results.

By prioritizing the retention of customers, you reap financial rewards for very minimal effort.

Case Study: How a Logistics Company Used CRM to Increase Retention

Retention has always been a problem for a logistics company. Their daily customer base was on the downward spiral, along with the customer satisfaction index. Implementing CRM turned things around almost completely as retention shot up.

Issues Faced Pre-CRM Deployment

1. Delayed Resolution – Customers’ complaints ate a lot of time to get resolved.
2. Extended Wait Periods – Agents had difficulties searching for users in spreadsheets.
3. Absence of Order-Tracking Features – There was no available platform for the customers to keep track of their orders.
4. Letting Numerous Problems Linger – Problems were not solved in an effective manner.
5. No Segmentation of Clients – Customers brand new and customers who had been with the company were treated the same way.
6. Inadequate Responses – There were too many queries from the customers that did not get answered.
7. Tracking From Spreadsheets – One had to rely on spreadsheets, as there was no automated way to manage customer problems.

Without CRM, frustrated customers went up, which drove customer loyalty down along with the income of the company.

How CRM Transformed Customer Retention

The implementation of CRM allowed the company to enhance in perfect automation of customer facing processes along with virtuous service quality. Here’s what changed:

1. Integrated Customer Service Number with CRM

• CRM system linked all customer calls with their purchases.
• Agents could retrieve useful history and solve issues fast.
• This increased first-contact resolution along with reduced hold times.

2. Automated Ticketing System

• Customers can now email tickets as attachments in CRM.
• Tickets were assigned as VIP in the company customer relationship management tool.
• Loyal clients received enhanced loyaltycircled primary servvices that boosted customer retension.

3. Identifying Repeat Customers

• Reoccuring clients were magically flagged as VIPs in the CRM.
• Their problems were addressed and solved much quicker.
• High VIPs were more prone to purchasing premium items.

4. Self-Service Portal for Customers

• Clients could easily view the status of their orders without contacting Support.
• Clients had the option to lodge complaints on their own without an agent’s help.
• This gave clients autonomy while saving the company more money on support expenses.

5. Loyalty Programs

• The CRM started giving them points and loyaltyb discounts for return customers.
• These programs fostered retention over a longer term.
• Long-term customers equal more revenue.

6. Automated Customer Feedback System

• CRM Provided customers the option of using video feedback and scripted transactions were caused for new videos.
• Any feedback they gace was capture to better their services.
• Better healthcare facilitated increased retention for clients within the organisation.

7. Referral Programs

• Customers were given the option to suggest to their friends and family and earn points.
• Referrals allowed for expansion of the customer base with no added work.
• Increased customer satisfaction led to better business through referrals.

Impacts of CRM Deployment Analysis

The improvement in brand service is pegged at 20% while the retention rate rose to 75%.

With no CRM:

• Theaverage was just 80 customers a year.

With CRM:

• Customer number escalated to 120 customers a year.

Equation Of Customer Retention Rate

Customer Retention Rate =

( Customers at end of period – New customers acquired ) ÷ Customers at start × 100

As for this case study:

(120 – 40) ÷ 80 × 100 = 75 percent retention rate.

No businesses are successful if customers strongly trust the business and keep returning, hence riding at a retention rate of 75%.

How CRM Impacts Customer Retention The Most

• Speeds up and increases effectiveness in servicing the customers by automating processes.
• Improves their experience, lessens churn.
• Real-time information tracking, datasets are inclusive of customers.
• Retention of key accounts and profitable customers who are active.
• Profitable through when accounts are referred to and when repeat purchases are made.

Reduction in customer churn and improvement in retention can be achieved by strategically instituting CRM systems, allowing for increased profits at lower expenses.

Concluding Reminders

• CRM systems enables clients to be retained by companies with ease.
• The level of automation can work within the customer base as retention can be effortless.
• The synergy from repeat customers can be astonishing and drives the bottomline positively.
• Customer retention rates can be improved with a well devised strategy on a new CRM.

In every strategy to implement, customer retention rates is believed to be the most crucial factor that decides success in the long run.

Categories: Customer Relationship Management