To truly stand out from the crowd in the world of modern business, you need more than just a good product or service. You have to be able to promote your brand to the point where you reach a wider audience. And once you’ve achieved that, the next challenge is to retain and grow that customer base.
But how can you do that? First and foremost, it’s vital to take a customer-centric approach. Here, we’ll run through why such a strategy is so important, how it can be implemented through website design as well as the methods you can use to measure your success.
Why is customer focus so important?
Put simply, your customers are the lifeblood of your business. Without them, you’re doomed to failure, so it’s absolutely vital that you do everything you can to look after them and foster that attachment with your brand.
You need to target them at every stage of the sales funnel with personalized, engaging content. That will increase the chances of them taking the next step and completing the full journey from awareness to action.
And once they’ve made that initial purchase, it’s up to you to keep them coming back for more. Studies show that increasing customer retention by just 5% can improve profits by as much as 95%, so investing in your existing base can deliver significant returns.
A customer loyalty program can further solidify that relationship, as it can improve that rate of retention, create advocates for your brand and even give you the edge over rivals without having to compete on price.
The importance of website design
For ecommerce businesses in particular, your website needs to deliver a strong user experience. It needs to be easy to get around, with clear links in the navigation that leave the consumer in no doubt as to where they can find more information about your range of products and/or services.
All content should display a clear purpose and be broken up with sub-headings. These should be optimized for keywords relating to your product/service to meet user search intent. They’ll also help to create clear signposts for readers, for whom large blocks of uninterrupted text means they’re more likely to look elsewhere for their information.
How can you evaluate your success?
There are many different metrics you can use to work out how successful you have been in attracting and retaining your customers. For example, customer churn looks at how many you had at the start of the year vs the end; customer lifetime value calculates how much revenue is generated by each individual and the loyal customer rate refers to the proportion of those who make repeat purchases.