5 things to improve revenue quality through customer retention

You can fail - In spite of best segmentation, targeting, positioning, creative messaging, promotions and flawless execution - if there is no value proposition to the customer.  

Being truly committed to the customer retention is hard work Truly committing to customer retention is hard work. It affects every aspect of your organization and must be top-down, company wide initiative. But it is worth the effort - the payback in sustainable growth and profitability. The path to customer retention involves six key steps.

1. Ask the customers what they want / like / dislike - on website, at point of sale, and in the package inserts. You may not get statistically valid feedback because majority customers are mildly satisfied and they do not speak up. Hence realize that the feedback is likely to be "extreme" : love or hate. So ask only if you can deal with the answers. Use the feedback as OFI and not as measurement.
2. Do the detail and discover who are your "best customers" - seems obvious but is not done. Likely (1) You never did this before and hence do not know how to define who is your Best Customer (2) You do not know who your best customers are (3) You do not know the trends in the cohort of best customers. Dont focus only on transactions : high-spenders on credit cards may be less attractive customers than moderate spenders who avail of credit. Just see who your reward program is really rewarding. 
3. The first few days and weeks of a new business relationship are critical. Send direct mail and email reminders and thank them for their business and make the "honeymoon" special. Dont assume that they will fend for themselves and figure out all the great things about doing business with you. In the long run, if they're not using your product or service, they're likely to bail when a better deal comes along.
4. Reward customers. They are weary of "me too" loyalty programs. Give something unexpected.
5. customers are busy and looking for ways to make their lives easier. Offer customers one-stop shopping, consolidated billing, free postage etc. Take the relationship to a new level.

A great product and great customer service are the foundation for customer retention. And positive word-of-mouth is by far the best marketing tool in your arsenal.

It may seem purely tactical but it is in the realm of strategic market planning and is a required strength of any successful organization. It costs about five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to keep a current customer. That's why it pays to pay attention to your best customers. In the end, they'll buy more, stick with you longer, and tell their friends how great it is doing business with your company.