HOW TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER RETENTION USING SALESFORCE

We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. 

It is our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little better.…… Jeff Bezos ( Founder & CEO at Amazon )

In a fast-paced digital world, reaching out to customers’ needs is more critical than ever. A company should always focus on to serve & please the customer as the competitors are still a few clicks away.

Sales Teams work hard to convert a prospect to a lead & a lead to a customer. They use product demos, attractive discounts & service promises to sell the product.

They don’t sell only a product to the customer. They sell company vision, mission & goals to ensure lifelong bonding with the customers. The real bonding between a company & a customer starts on the first day of a product demonstration.

Once the customer starts using the product, he gets to know about its strengths & weaknesses. If he is satisfied with the product, he returns to make the repeated purchases again & again. But if he is dissatisfied with company service, even top company management can’t stop customers from churning out.

Recommended: 5 Reliable Ways To Retain Customers Using Salesforce

Salesforce as a Customer Retention Tool 

Salesforce provides premium tools that help in managing different customer accounts, track orders & address complaints in a single software.

It provides breakthrough features starting from

• Personalization
• Interaction with inactive customers
• One Single centralized database for easy access
• Track customer interactions
• Integrate Customer Service Tools

1) Personalization

Several years ago, a customer who has purchased branded products from a company is super surprised when they receive SMS & email addressing them by their names.

Isn’t it more appealing & excellent!!

Using the name of the customer is like giving them their due respect & acknowledging their importance.

When a customer sees their flashing name in the communication medium, the chances of response increases many times, positively impacting customer retention.

That’s the reason companies have backed up customer name, address & contact details online safely under cloud storage. These personalized details are ready to be used in sales & marketing activities for better targeting.

Salesforce uses Pardot dynamic content for smoother user experience. For example, suppose a customer has filled a form for a website in exchange for any discount codes.

He visits the website after two weeks. Then Pardot dynamic content will track the user interactions & behaviors on the website, tailoring the web experience with dynamic range. It will also ensure hassle-free login into the website by automatically filling user details.

2) Interaction with Inactive Customers

Bringing a new customer into the system is too costly. Daily engagement of the customer is a never-ending essential process.

Customers must remember the brand name so that they interact & return to buy again & again.

But what if customers become inactive & stop responding to all promotional campaigns.

Staying connected to customers is comfortable with these three simple steps.

Step 1: Implement a ranking system in Salesforce to track how often a customer needs follow-up.

Step 2: Track every touchpoint with a customer in Salesforce by documenting the activity type.

Step 3: Classifying customers and tracking activity, generates a touch report that provides a list of customers that need to be contacted according to classification. 

All three steps are used to engage actively as well as an inactive customer also.

3) One Single Centralized Database for Easy Access

Centralizing customer data helps in easy access to data at a single place & empowers the team to take swift action.

With Salesforce, all customer data sources merge into a single location.

It helps ensure that companies don’t have to worry about verifying data accuracy.

Instead, they can focus on customers and their dynamic needs. 

But, if there is missing information, then sales teams will struggle to acquire & keep customers.

4) Track Customer Interactions

Monitoring data can easily track customer interactions. 

Salesforce data reflects every microtransaction of the customer journey, starting from channels, paid ads, interest areas, purchases, time spent on the website, clicked details, etc.

Having access to such type of data allows focused customer engagement at the right time.

Tracking customer interactions helps reach the full story of every customer.

5) Integrate Customer Service Tools

Salesforce can do the unthinkable with Customer service tools!

Now companies don’t have to call/email different customer service departments to gather data.

Everyone can access customer complaints, issues & requests at a single place.

The extracted information can be used to 

• Offer Solutions
• Upsell products/services
• Reach out customers with issues 

At the end of the day, customer retention means listening & responding to the customers at the right time, even if it doesn’t result in sales.

Let’s Conclude:

As we concluded, retaining an existing customer is more accessible than acquiring a new one. So, to maintain an existing customer, we have to personalize with them, nurture the inactive customer, and build relationships with them. To avoid any mistake, we have to have a centralized customer data with all the information for easy & accurate access.

CEPTES is a Salesforce Silver consulting partner that can guide you as your strategic partner to speed up the business value of your Salesforce.com investment through consultation, digitization, and innovation. If you are thinking of growing your business using the Salesforce platform, then get in touch; we are happy to help you.

Also Read: 6 Ways Salesforce Service Cloud Helps You Deliver Exceptional Customer Service