Customer Acquisition and Retention
Customer Acquisition and Retention strategies and their execution is the heart of any business. There is famous saying that only one person pays your bill and that is the customer.
A study of quotes by various practitioners and experts will help in formulating strategies for any startup, especially, solopreneurs.
Customer Acquisition and Retention-Minimum Viable Product
MVP is an effective tool to test waters before large scale launch and promotion. This also helps in conserving resources and arriving at a better business model. Market Research based startups are liable to face hiccups which may lead to a failed business.
Customer Acquisition and Retention-Eric Ries on MVP
i. “What separates MVPs from traditional market research is that it is a deliberate experimentation approach based on customer behaviour, not opinion.”
ii. "Minimum Viable Product (MVP) helps you to discover “what really matters”
iii. The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
Customer Acquisition and Retention-Talking to Customers
- Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face. You’d be amazed how many companies don’t listen to their customers.” – Ross Perot
- “Every contact we have with a customer influences whether or not they’ll come back. We have to be great every time or we’ll lose them.” ― Kevin Stirtz
- "If you deal with every customer in the same way, you will only close 25 to 30 percent of your contacts, because you will only close one personality type. But if you learn how to effectively work with all four personality types, you can conceivably close 100 percent of your contacts." —Rod Nichols
- “Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meet .” – Kevin Stirtz
- “How you think about your customers, influences how you respond to them.” ― Marilyn Suttle
- “It is so much easier to be nice, to be respectful, to put yourself in your customers' shoes and try to understand how you might help them before they ask for help, than it is to try to mend a broken customer relationship.” — Mark Cuban
Customer Acquisition and Retention- Satisfied& Loyal Customers
i. “Merely satisfying customers will not be enough to earn their loyalty. Instead,they must experience exceptional service worthy of their repeat business and referral. Understand the factors that drive this customer revolution.” – Rick Tate
ii. “There is a big difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal customer.” – Shep Hyken
iii. “Unless you have 100% customer satisfaction- you must improve."-Horst Schultz
Customer Acquisition and Retention-Process to winover Customers
I. “The easiest and most powerful way to increase customer loyalty is really very simple. Make your customers happy.” ― Kevin Stirtz
II. "By innovating and providing increasing benefits to your customers," he says, "you no longer have to worry about competitors 'catching up,' since you're always leading." - Mike Masnick, founder and CEO of Floor 641.
III. "If customers are saying they want certain things, it's up to me to give them what they want." -Anupy Singla
General
- “The market does not care how long you worked on something or how well you did it. Efforts is not rewarded. The market cares only if what you have done is a fit for their needs.” - Carson McComas
- “Local SEO is a powerful way to grow your reach and influence in your own backyard. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, local SEO will drive targeted traffic not just to your site, but to your store as well.” – Ryan Shelly
- "As you’ve noticed, people don’t want to be sold. What people do want is news and information about the things they care about." — Larry Weber
Customer Acquisition and Retention- Conclusion
üA summary of key learnings from the quotes is as follows.
ü The first step is to generate leads.
ü In order to minimize risks, developing a minimum viable product will help to have live testing.
ü Dialogue and continuous contact with customers is vital.
ü Customer satisfaction alone is not enough to get customer loyalty.
