As per a Forbes study, acquiring a new customer takes about 5 times more money than retaining an old one. Harvard Business Review has also stated that increasing your customer retention by just 5% can increase your profits by more than 25%. So, as a small business, it is more important for you to keep your existing customers happy and make them come back to you. 

Here are some simple yet effective customer retention strategies for small businesses: 

• Provide exceptional on boarding experience. Do not leave any scope of guesswork for your clients. They should have a single point of contact whom they can talk to about their needs and expectations. There should be almost no hiccups when you are serving them. If things go out of control (staff on leave or machinery malfunctioned), rectify your mistake, and apologize immediately. 
• Provide personalized services. Ask your client what exactly he/she is looking for and suggest the most relevant options you have. Do not suggest something that you want to sell, suggest something that they are interested in. 
• Encourage your customers to leave feedback. Many buyers do not feel comfortable enough to openly talk about their bad experience. So, it is good to get feedback through feedback forms that they can fill out after a few days. You can send them emails or may even give them a follow-up call to ask about their recent experience. Evaluate these feedbacks and respond to them immediately. Address their concerns and thank them for their suggestions, opinions, etc. 
• Create a communication calendar and send follow-up emails, discount emails, etc. on those days. For example; if you offer dog grooming services, you can send an email/message to your customer stating that it's been ‘X’ weeks since he got his dog groomed. Offer him a discount for the next visit. Personalize these messages for a better customer experience. Make sure you do not bombard them with such emails or messages. Send timely messages only. 

Everyone likes to be heard and acknowledged. If you do that with your clients, they would love to come back to you again and again.  

More information: https://www.significantgps.com
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Franne McNeal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frannemcneal