As long as you are in a customer-oriented business, some amount of customer churning away is inevitable. But the whole point is to always keep this amount really low. As per statistics, one out of 26 unhappy customers will make the effort to complain, and the rest 25 will simply churn away. The higher is your churn rate, the bigger it affects your company adversely. Fortunately, you can always save yourself from the bulging churn rates if you have all the rights in the right place. Here are 7 such tactics to reduce churn in no time and augment the retention rate. But before that, let us brush up on some basics. 

What is Churn Rate?

The definition of churn rate is the percentage of the users who discontinue or unsubscribe from a given in a certain period. Now a customer might leave or switch from a company due to a multitude of reasons. Some of the reasons include, lack of interest, high dissatisfaction rates, the customer wishes to leave the market, or customer found a better offer with a competitive price range. But of all, a customer leaves because they deem that the company does not care about them. 

Have deeper engagements with your customers 

Why would your customers be willing to leave you if they have all your attention? One of the best ways to check churn rates is by actively engaging with your customers. For starters, offer your customers day-to-day value by using your products. Prove it to them that your services are at par excellence and why they should come back and purchase from you. Also, look into the customer journey and analyze their shopping patterns. Reach out to them on emails or connect with them directly on call. This will be vehemently helpful in keeping the churn rate in check. Receiving constructive feedback is crucial for any business to grow and improve itself, when this feedback is coming from your customers it’s even more valuable for you to better your services. 

Detect the at-risk Customers

Let us look at it this way – the best way to prevent churn is by refraining it from happening in the first place, right? So, how do you do that? Start by monitoring the customers who are at-risk. They will show you some signs that denote that they are most likely to churn away. They will tend to spend really little time on your site, also, they might take a backseat from paying up for your further subscriptions too. Statistically proven, 35% of the B2B organizations have used this particular tactic to reduce churn to a considerable rate. In that case, proactively reach out to these customers and know what they want. Resolve their issues by putting them as a priority and see what best you can offer to see that they stick around with you a little longer. 

Say yes to Discounts, Promo Codes and Offers 

It is a given that the customers want freebies or goodies. It is a good marketing strategy to offer such click-bait incentives to especially those customers who were once identified to churn away. These can take place in form of flat 50% off discounts, or coupons, or special promo codes as well. Also, note that you deploy this scheme only for those customers who you think to have a chance of doing business with you again. Let us assume a customer who has not browsed your site for over two years will come back to purchase from you, in spite of the discount. Know when to strike the iron – only when it is hot. Statistics back that up too. About 51% of the marketers deem discounts to be an effective tactic to reduce customer churn. 

Render extra heed to the Complaints 

Almost about 96% of the dissatisfied customers will not complain and about 91% of the customers will simply leave and not revert. To steer away from these scary stats, you must do something about the negative complaints. Say, you have a really agitated customer who has taken to the internet about how dissatisfied they were with your product. On that note, immediately respond to their issues and offer them ways as to how you can fix them. Who knows, by seeing a great response from you, they could actually convert to an active user and can eventually become a brand advocate for you? Business is all about taking calculated risks, after-all. 

Seal the Long-term Deals 

One of the best ways to extend your client’s commitment is by offering them long-term contracts. Any plans that are over a period of one-year fall into this category. Instead of the month-to-month subscriptions, you can try out offering them a longer subscription plan. This way, they will be with you for a longer period of time, thereby cutting the chances of churning away instantly. Also, there is every possibility that the more they see your product, the easier it will become for them to realize your benefits. And the faster they see your benefits; they are more likely to stick with your company for an even log time. 

Provide better Customer Service 

It is no fun to be hung on the other side of the phone, awaiting a response from the customer executive. The last thing you want to mess with is the patience of a customer. All they need from you is a swift response for their issue and fix it as fast as possible. Interacting with a dull customer service representative, who takes a backseat from reverting quickly with the right solutions, is something that an agitated customer cannot take. This, being a delicate situation can lead your customer to churn away in no time. That is why, you must deploy experienced professionals who know how to handle customer complaints the right way. 

Create an online community around your brand 

It is a human tendency to feel like a part of a community. The desire to belong to a particular community or tribe is very basic and ingrained in ourselves. Use this in your marketing policies and bind your customers even closer. In order to make them feel like a part of your company, try building an active yet engaged community around your brand. If you can come up with an online plan, your customers can upload pictures, put up posts and pave the way to an engaging discussion. And once, they are part of this engaging group, do you think they will wish to switch over to some new brand? 

That’s a Wrap 

Like mentioned, some amount of churn is almost inevitable but not impossible. As a marketer, you must put forth your best efforts to ensure that your customer is happy, satisfied and completed engaged with your products. Nonetheless, a stellar customer experience should be central to your system and should be a must of every forward-thinking brand. Utilize this strategy and you will soon see the wonders of this. Pampering a customer with all your love and devotion will let them stay around for a little longer. And who knows, these customers might turn into advocates tomorrow and refer your brand to other people as well. In a way, it will lead to a win-win for both of you. In the end, being in a customer-centric business, the satisfaction of a customer is all that matters.