Did you know that a 10% increase in customer retention can lead to a 30% rise in the value of the company? Keeping your customers happy is unquestionably good for your bottom line, and if you’re a small business owner, chances are you already have a strategy for just that purpose. But could you be doing more?

Keep your customers happy by staying competitive, not underdelivering, being the convenient option and valuing your clients’ points of view. By incorporating one or more of these tips into your strategy, you’ll find your customers are even happier they chose you.

Keep an eye on the competition

Your customers want to engage with you because you’re the best in some area that matters to them, which may mean they’re making a small compromise. It could be that your products aren’t the most affordable on the market, but your offering is totally unique. Or maybe your services don’t get rated as highly as your competitors’, but you offer unmatched customer service. Decide what your strengths are and don’t be complacent. Keep outdoing yourself to keep your customers happy!

“While keeping your product or service on the cutting edge is important, it’s also important that your customer success and support efforts remain relevant,” said Carly Stec at http://HubSpot.com. “To ensure your competitors aren’t lapping you, make note of their customer success initiatives.”

While you can’t make everyone happy all the time, be sure your customer service is at least as good as your competition’s. See how quickly they respond to questions on social media or if they have a live chat service on their website. Maybe they have a comprehensive knowledge base or a helpful Q&A page. Whatever they’re doing well, make sure you’re doing it well, too, so your customers don’t have to compromise in this crucial area.

Don’t underdeliver

One key to keeping customers happy is managing expectations. In your marketing materials, onboarding process and any other time you make claims about yourself, be sure those claims match the actual result clients can expect to receive for what they’re paying. 

Let’s talk appliances, for example. If you buy an old dryer for $80 and it stops working after a year, it’s not terribly disappointing. In fact, that’s almost better than you would expect. But if you spend $2,000 on a brand new dryer and the same thing happens, you would be furious because you were expecting excellent quality. 

When it comes to your business, you don’t necessarily have to under-promise and over-deliver, but at least be sure to deliver a commensurate level of value for what your customers are paying – and what your competitors are delivering for a similar price. 

Be the convenient option

In some cases, cost and convenience are two sides of the same coin. Some customers are willing to sacrifice convenience for a lower price, and others are willing to sacrifice a lower price for convenience. And, of course, this may vary from purchase to purchase. Whatever the preference, you don’t want your business to be both inconvenient and expensive. 

If your products or services are on the more expensive side for your market, consider implementing some of these suggestions from http://uschamber.com to make it more likely that choosing your business will justify the higher price for your customers:

1. Curbside pickup (if possible)
2. Easy-to-access customer service through multiple channels
3. Fast or free shipping, with multiple shipping speed options
4. Online appointments and reservations
5. Simple online and mobile purchasing with apps such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal

Value the client’s point of view

Customers want to do business with businesses they trust. So ask yourself, “What impression am I making on my customers?” To make a positive impression that results in trust, frequent, two-way communication is vital.

“There is no scale that can measure the importance of client feedback,” according to http://Thnks.com. “Without it, what is your company? Your customers have the ability to create or destroy your business. The power is in their hands, so make sure to listen closely to them. And if you don’t know what they think, ask!”

To get that life-giving feedback, consider these suggestions:

• Read your reviews.
• Call your clients and ask them to rate your performance on a scale of 1 to 10. If the answer isn’t good, ask what you could do to improve.
• Read comments on your social media posts and articles written by or about you.
• Send out surveys.
• Start conversations to gauge their sentiment.

Keep an eye on your competition, don’t underdeliver, be the convenient option and value your clients’ points of view. There are lots of reasons customers might switch to another company; make it the natural choice for your customers to keep coming back to you.

Peter Ord is the founder of GuideCX, a client implementation and onboarding project platform based in Draper, Utah.

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