When trying to find a business to work with, customers are easily able to view all of their choices within seconds. Your business information and reviews will show up alongside all of your competitors’, and it’s your job to ensure that you stand out.

It’s common knowledge that repeat customers are more valuable to a business than acquiring new customers. In fact, repeat customers are responsible for about 40% of a business’ revenue. Unfortunately, many businesses are losing customers to their competition simply because they aren’t working to keep their customers coming back. 

What causes businesses to lose customers to their competition?

Lack of Engagement

Not engaging with your customers on a regular basis is a sure way to lose them. Businesses should engage with their customers on platforms their customers enjoy using like texting, emailing and social media outlets. Each and every engagement should be targeted so your happy customers know that the content is written just for them. 

Don’t engage with customers just to engage. Instead, provide them with information that is valuable to them, such as:

• Tips and advice pertaining to your industry
• Current sales and promotions
• Product/service updates

No Personalized Connection

Personalizing your connections with people is the way to make friends, and the same applies when it comes to creating lifelong customers. People love to feel heard and appreciated in each and every interaction. This is something your business can focus on by training employees to be personable and friendly. Focus on learning your loyal customers’ names and information about them, so you can personalize your conversations. People always want to work with businesses if they feel they can trust them and the best way to establish that trust is to build a personal connection. Ask your customer questions about themselves while completing a service for them, if they’re nearby. Leave them with tips after you’ve completed a service so they know that you have their best interest in mind. Make sure your employees know that you expect them to connect with each customer, so interactions are always positive with your business. 

Poor Online Reputation

Increasing your online presence is a key factor to growing your business. When consumers can’t find you online, they don’t know how to contact you or if you offer the services they need. When your reviews are poor or non-existent, people steer away and instead head in the direction of those businesses who are flooded with positive reviews. The best part about building your online reputation is that most of it can be done for free:

• Create updated listings for your business on as many platforms online as possible
• Have a user-friendly website with current information
• Ask every happy customer to leave you an online review
• Respond to customers online through review, social posts, etc.

Now that we’ve talked about all the bad things that cause customers to avoid going back to a business, let’s end on a more positive note. The good news is that more often than not, businesses are in control of bringing their customers back or letting their competitors steal them. Focusing on engaging with your customers in a way that is convenient for them, and ensuring that your content is valuable is the first step. Once you have a customer coming to your business, personalize your interactions with them and let them know they’re important to you and that you want to continue helping them. Your customers choose your business for a reason, and your job is to make sure they know that they made the right choice!

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!