Two Things You Should Know About Customer Retention

Customer retention. It’s good for your brand, it’s good for your business. And you love your old customers. But they just won’t resign. Why is this?

Newsflash, they’re BORED. There is no spark, no desire to work with you anymore. This happens to the best of us, but I am here to tell you how you can change it. How to become desirable in the eyes of your customers again.

Let’s back this up a little bit. We all have someone we’re dying to work with. And I mean you being the student and that desired person to be the teacher. You look at their stuff, how they show up online, devour every piece of information they give you. And I mean, DEVOUR. Like how you devoured that taco last Friday night at your favorite texmex restaurant. Everything they do is shiny and new and peaks your interest. Then one day, you get to sign up with them and it’s all fireworks and a dream come true, they help you and your business tremendously. When the time comes that you guys are done and she offers to keep working with you. The spark is lost. You don’t feel the desire to work with them anymore. You’ve become familiar with them and what they teach. And besides, you have someone else you’ve been eyeing and they seem VERY DESIREABLE. Sounds familiar?

If this is happening to you, where you can’t seem to keep people interested to resign up – keep reading.

 

First reason why your customer retention sucks.

You need to add some surprise in your business. People get bored. It happens. All the time. Our attention spans are so short these days and if there is no surprise that wakes people up from their trance, changes are they’re not going to resign with you. In order to keep people interested, you need to protect that spark and keep their desire up to work with you. Leave a cliff hanger for them when you stop working together. Leave something that gets them desire you instead of Paula next door. Just remember, if you reveal all your cards in one sitting, they will lose interest and go sign up with Paula, because she makes them feel that desire.

 

Second reason why your customer retention sucks.

Let’s put our lab coats on and pretend were scientists. From a neurochemical perspective, this whole situation is caused by a dance with between dopamine and oxytocin. Dopamine is linked with desire and oxytocin is the “cuddle chemical.” It’s almost… comforting. You feel it when you hug those who you love. As oxytocin goes up, dopamine goes down. So, as you get comfortable with someone, their desire goes down. Because it’s familiar, comfort zone. As you can see, this is a problem when it comes to customer retention, getting people excited to work and resign up with you. If they’re comfortable with you, they’re most likely going to leave because they want that rush that dopamine gets them. Something unexpected.

 

How do I keep people to resign up then?

Well, like mentioned earlier, you want to end your coaching (or whatever it is that you do) with a cliff hanger. Now, that is desire at its finest. I would advice you to be ethical with this, though. If you do some sketchy stuff, people can sense that. And they will most certainly not work with you. One thing you could do, come close to your contract, send them a goodbye PDF. Tell them how you appreciate their business and what else is there in store for them. You could offer a customized services instead of ordering the same one as earlier. You can offer a discount or even a thank you box that you mail to these people. Offer them an extra SOS call that they can get any time they need it.

 

Just don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Or forced. If needs to come from a place that is genuine. But customer retention is really is that simple. All you need to do is to make people desire you.