Customer retention is a critical component of sustainable business growth. In an industry or market where there is a disruptive competitor or significant market shifts, retention becomes increasingly more important yet more difficult to maintain and manage.
In highly competitive commodity businesses, the account manager’s number one responsibility should be customer retention. Yet sometimes it is difficult to think beyond providing the usual competitive pricing and good customer service to keep customers satisfied and coming back for more.
Consider these 3 key account manager retention activities to keep your customers coming back for more:
1. Do great work every day, every time
It is the account manager’s responsibility to lead this effort with all of their customers. Although it is not easy to be at your best around-the-clock, when you’re engaging with customers – well that’s your job. Put your game face on and provide outstanding service, responsiveness, and professionalism to your customers every time. Strive to exceed their expectations. You want your customers to feel the difference that you bring to the relationship and that you personally are working on their behalf. Professional consistency is the key to never giving them a reason to leave.
2. Have a plan and measure results
Take ownership and have a plan for the growth of that relationship. If not, it is easy for either party to get complacent. A business partnership should truly be a mutual understanding and agreement of each other’s needs, with a plan for growth and improvement. When you are working together with your customers towards a common goal, they will see you have their best interest in mind and are not just being responsive to their inquiries or needs. Be proactive in managing and leading the customer relationship, first by determining your relationship goals and then by establishing timelines so that you can work together towards meeting those goals.
When you strategically manage the relationship, you begin to align your products and services to their business goals and challenges. They will see you as a trusted partner who adds value and raises the bar in what they expect from their supplier.
Loyalty and customer retention is built by showing that you care while working together with a common purpose.
3. Be credible
Be the SME (Subject Matter Expert) for the products or services you represent. Know how your brand is perceived by your customers and within your community. This is not about your company’s brand, but rather your personal brand, reputation, and image as a professional. Educate and challenge your customers; share relevant content, provide articles, white pages, and information that will make them better at their jobs, more educated in their position, and look better to their peers. Make yourself so credible that they can’t deny you as the obvious choice in an account manager or a business partner. Your customers will be proud to be a part of your personal network and one of your professional connections.
No one said that customer retention was easy.
However, these three tips will quantum leap you well above being nice, convenient, and having low prices. These types of retention activities will supersede any competitive pressures while making your customers feel the difference of having you personally as their business partner. Begin today to realize the full impact that you can have on retention and customer loyalty and solidify your relationships for years to come.
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Krista S. Moore is the Founder and CEO of K.Coaching, Inc., a sales leadership coaching, consulting, and training organization. She is a sought-after Motivational Speaker, Author, Certified Business Coach, and Talk Show Host. Moore combines her real-life business experiences, certified business coaching, and motivational style to help others achieve outstanding success in their lives and in their careers.
Moore is host of The Krista Moore Talk Show, and author of Race to Amazing: Your Fast Track to Sales Leadership. These are her “give backs” to help others continue to learn, develop, and grow into being the best that they can be.