7 Customer Retention Tips For IT Companies

Customer retention is one of the most vital investments for IT companies.

The goal is simple: to keep as many customers on board as possible.

However, this is a lot easier said than done. Existing customers can leave for a variety of reasons, including poor customer service and not paying attention to their evolving needs.

To stop customers from cancelling, you need to employ a series of marketing techniques to keep them satisfied and loyal.

With that being said, here are 7 customer retention marketing tips for IT companies.

1. Use Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is a valuable tool. It can be used to gain insight into customers’ thoughts about your current systems and products so that they can be improved for both current customers and when targeting new.

With this in mind, it’s important to find patterns within the feedback provided. This will show you your customers want the most from your product or service.

There are a number of ways you can get customer feedback.

Firstly, there’s your email list. Select a good sample source and ask them what they like and what can be improved. There is also social media marketing. Spot trends and the common things people are associating with your brand.

2. Broken Link Building

This next IT marketing tip coming from Digital Authority involves scanning your website for broken links and replacing them with working links.

It’s likely that you will be posting content on your IT website, of which you’ll be using a series of internal and external links to boost its SEO through authority.

However, if you have lots of old posts, some of the links included may no longer work.

If an existing customer browses that page and clicks a broken link, it shows them that the page is outdated, and will likely go somewhere else to find current, up-to-date valuable content.

So, to combat this, go through all your pages and ensure that all your links are working properly. Alternatively, you could use a broken link generator to do this for you automatically.

3. Improved Content Marketing

As mentioned above, it’s highly likely that your IT business is utilizing content marketing as part of the overall marketing campaign.

Here’s the deal: To improve customer retention you need to provide better content on a consistent basis.

This will build better relationships with your existing customers. They will be able to use your brand as a frequent resource for important and, ultimately, actionable information.

And it’s not just about building content. It’s also about measuring the effectiveness of content in the age of data-driven marketing. According to Combo App, data-driven marketing refers to ‘the methodology of extracting actionable insights tied to consumer behavior from large data sets in order to predict consumer behavior in relation to new products, marketing positioning and users’ likelihood of interacting with a brand.’

In simple terms, you need to do your research on the most pertinent and critical topics that your ideal audience wants to learn about. You cannot do content for the sake of content. Rather, you must invest in defining the right topics that are sought by your ideal customers. And use content to show your expertise and thought leadership on those topics.

4. Exceptional Customer Service

IT companies can retain customers better by continually providing exceptional customer service.

By exceptional, we mean going the extra mile, pulling out all the stops, etc ie doing everything in your power to deliver consistently high-quality results.

Start by ensuring that all employees and team members are trained to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction and make it a priority if they aren’t up to scratch.

Also, make sure that you are prompt to respond to communications left by your existing customers. If they call, try and answer within as few rings as possible. Make yourself available for calls outside of usual office hours.

For emails, be accessible. Get them on your mobile phone so you can answer on the go.

Providing the best service to your IT company can improve customer retention just as quickly and easily as providing poor service can drive them away.

5. Employ A Courtesy System

Powerful courtesy systems improve the communication skills within your IT team. These skills can then be transferred into communications with clients.

Within the office, train your team to speak to each other just as they would with your customers. Speak with respect and be polite, no matter if the questions or statements seem stupid or irrelevant.

Think of it this way:

Would you want your team speaking to existing customers with a lack of respect?

Highly unlikely.

So, having an environment where colleagues talk to each other in a pleasant manner ensures that the behavior becomes second nature. Colleagues will enjoy coming to work, and building better relationships within the team that can only make translate to creating stronger relationships with customers.

6. Customer Appreciation

Another customer retention technique for IT companies involves showing your customers you care about them.

When you show that you are grateful for their business, there’s a bigger chance that they remain loyal to your brand.

One of the best ways to show customer appreciation is by creating loyalty programs. You could offer discounts based on the length of time they have been with you. You could also provide them with extra IT services free of charge in exchange for their loyalty.

Another great technique is to provide existing customers with exclusivity. After all, who doesn’t like having access to things others can’t?

7. Set Expectations

Finally, set expectations for your existing customers.

If you make a promise to them, stick to it.

As an IT company, don’t guarantee that you solve all their issues at once. From experience, you probably know it’ll take time, especially the troubleshooting period.

But say you promised to fix all their issues within a week and you fail.

At the end of the day, you’ve failed to meet your customers’ requirements.

That won’t resonate well with your existing customers. If anything, it shows you only cared about getting their money.

Don’t over-promise if you know you can’t deliver. Be conscious of what you can achieve and relay it to the customer.

They will appreciate honesty, which is a key factor for building long-term trust and loyalty.

However, in the event that you do fail, always apologize and compensate them accordingly. This shows that you take responsibility and can be held accountable for your actions.

Summary

These 7 customer retention tips will help you continue to satisfy your customers for the long term and build solid relationships with loyal brand followers.