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CUSTOMER RETENTION NEW BOTTOM-LINE TO SUCCESS

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MWH Public Relations (MWHPR) employs a comprehensive approach in learning our clients’

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CUSTOMER RETENTION TOOL KITTABLE OF CONTENTS

Customer Retention Service   2

Our Approach   3

Customer Service History & Segmentation   4

Segmentation Groups   5

Stay in Touch    6

Helpful Hints   8

Reconnect with Lost Customers   9

Startling Statistics   10

Loyalty Programs   11

Loyalty Program Solutions   12

Customer Satisfaction Surveys   14

Customer Satisfaction Surveys   15

The End Process   16

Customer Service Training   17

Training Options   18

Customer Retention Rate   20

Customer Retention Value Proposition   21

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CUSTOMER RETENTION SERVICEMWH Public Relations (MWHPR) offers the Customer

Retention service to help our clients fully engage their

customers, build long-term relationships, and drive

repeat business.

We believe customer retention is a process and

have committed resources to ensure our clients are

enacting the proper strategies to maintain sustainable

business growth. The MWHPR Customer Retention

Specialist (CRS) is charged with helping clients

develop and implement solid customer retention

practices that become an intricate component of

corporate strategy. With our phased-in approach,

our clients are guided through the entire process

and learn how to effectively use customer retention

tools and strategies to enhance their customer

relationships.

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Phase 1 Assessment

The CRS evaluates our clients’ current customer retention

practices and identifies opportunities for improvement.

The CRS also isolates any mitigating factors that could

impact successful implementation.

Phase 2 PlAnning And develoPment

The CRS works with our clients to create or fine-tune

existing customer retention practices that reflect their

overall goals and objectives and plans for future growth.

This determines the strategies and/or tools that our clients

will use to fully engage their customers.

Phase 3 imPlementAtion

The CRS ensures that management and designated

employees understand the proper use of the customer

retention tools and how to incorporate them into their daily

routine. The CRS will then determine if any supplementary

MWHPR services are needed to further enhance newly

developed practices.

Phase 4 meAsurement

The CRS helps our clients determine the best method of

measurement to ascertain the effectiveness of their customer

retention practices. Clients then set appropriate benchmarks

and review monthly, quarterly, or annually as they see fit.

MWHPR encourages our clients to use the Customer

Retention Tool Kit as a reference guide in spearheading

their customer retention efforts. Our CRS, Carolyn

Hartmann, is available to help you embark on your journey.

You can reach Carolyn at (713) 840-6392.

OUR APPROACH

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CUSTOMER SERVICE HISTORY & SEGMENTATIONCompanies who are leaders in their markets know

who their customers are: when they buy (purchasing

patterns), how they use their products and services,

what they are likely to need or want next, and why

they buy from them. Having a 360 degree view

helps them stay one step ahead of their customers

anticipating their future needs and requirements.

Ideally, your customer intelligence should originate

from one data source. If you have customer

information dispersed among multiple platforms,

some form of systems integration might be required.

There are various types of Customer Relationship

Management (CRM) software available that houses

customer service history and makes segmentation

a much easier process. The software also tracks

customer behavior which facilitates product and

service development.

Once your customer profiles are in order, you can

begin the segmentation process. Segmentation is the

secret weapon of any effective marketing program.

It provides a better user experience and definitely a

better conversion rate because you are reaching out

to a targeted audience group. Every organization has

its own segmentation strategy. However, there are

some basic practices or principles that can be applied

across the board.

Customer service history and segmentation help you hit the ground running. They form the basis of all your

customer retention practices and allow you to anticipate your customers’ needs and expectations.

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SEGMENTATION GROUPSThe following provides a list of the different groups that many organizations choose to segment.

High Risk Target customers on the verge of discontinuing

service immediately to see how you can improve the

quality of your products and services and relationship

building efforts.

Revenue GeneratorsTarget high revenue customers on a regular basis for

increased profit margins.

New Target brand new customers within the first two

weeks to establish relationship and build credibility.

Current Target existing customers to retain business and

qualify sales leads.

Loyal Target long-term customers to show your

appreciation for their business and acquire potential,

new services.

InactiveTarget customers who have not been in contact with

you over a certain period of time to determine if there

are any issues of concern.

LostTarget customers who have relinquished services to

obtain feedback on the quality of your services and

your relationship building skills.

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STAY IN TOUCH Frequency of communication

is a must if you want to sustain

your customer base. Staying

in touch with your customers

builds rapport which leads to

future assignments and refer-

rals. Both are key components

of a successful business plan.

This approach will enhance your

perception as a dependable and

professional resource.

The following strategies can

help you establish the frame-

work for stronger relationships

generating significant ROI.

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CALL YOUR CUSTOMERS

In the age of pervasive online

communications, it’s easy to lose

sight of the traditional forms of

customer contact. The simple act

of calling your customers is the

mainstay in customer service.

You can inquire if your prod-

ucts and services are living up

to your customers’ expectations

or hindering their operations.

Calling your customers on a

regular basis tells them they are

on your radar and are important

to your business.

EVENTS

Company-wide and/or networking

events are a great way to connect

with new and existing customers

and reestablish former relation-

ships. Branding, special occasions,

open houses, etc. provide the

opportunity to unveil new services

and reveal the future direction

of your company. These events

also generate sales leads and

encourage customers on the fence

to return. Your customers are

appreciative and are more likely

to view you as reputable service

provider who cares.

SOCIAL MEDIA

According to Nielsen’s 2012 Social

Media Report, Americans spent 121

billion minutes on social networks

between July 2011 and July 2012,

up from 88 billion the previous

year. Social media is here to stay.

Whether it’s to keep open lines of

communications with C-level exec-

utives or to promote your brand in

new and exciting ways, businesses

can generate significant revenue

with social media if used prop-

erly. Engaging in social media on

a steady basis helps you achieve

constant visibility with your target

audience and create a special

bond where your customers are

invested in your success and are

willing to take notice.

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BLOG

A blog is a simple and inexpen-

sive way to stay in touch with

your customers. It’s one of the

most powerful weapons in your

marketing arsenal. Your blog is

primarily used to promote your

products and services, keep your

customers informed about the

latest company updates, increase

brand awareness, and attract and

retain customers. Blogging also

provides a more personal connec-

tion with your customers giving

them the opportunity to provide

ongoing feedback.

eNEWSLETTERS

Online newsletters are extremely

valuable in connecting with your

customers. They facilitate dialogue,

strengthen relationships, enhance

marketing efforts, and increase

lead generation. eNewsletters

also provide helpful analytics

for tracking and measuring their

effectiveness. Most importantly,

they further differentiate your

brand and achieve customer loyalty

and retention.

EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

Email campaigns are useful

tools if leveraged properly. They

provide the perfect outlet for

ongoing communications with

your customers. Unlike tradi-

tional marketing techniques, email

campaigns can be highly custom-

ized in delivering messages to a

particular segment or target audi-

ence. They also produce detailed

analytics to help you secure the

success of your customer engage-

ment strategies.

HELPFUL HINTS

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RECONNECT WITH LOST CUSTOMERSThe national average of customers who leave their service provider every year is roughly twenty percent. That’s

one out of five of your current customers! Several surveys administered by the American Society for Quality

Control, the Harvard Business Review, U S News & World Report, and even the Swedish Post Office titled “Satsa

pa Kunden” (“Focus on the Customer”) investigated why customers end business relationships. Each survey

was done independently, yet produced the same results.

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STARTLING STATISTICS14 percent left because complaints were unresolved

9 percent left for the competition.

9 percent moved out of town.

68 percent said they left for “no special reason.”

It’s in your business’s best interest to reconnect with the 68 percent of customers who severed ties to recoup lost

revenue and gain invaluable feedback as to why they ceased contact. How can you and other organizations circum-

vent this scenario?

Here are some helpful tips for reestablishing customer relationships

• Monitor customer retention programs or initiatives to refine current practices or develop new strategies.

• Categorize top reasons why customers leave to identify improvement opportunities.

• Regularly obtain customer feedback to deter customer exits.

• Offer incentives to returning customers.

• Monitor returning customers closely to gauge their satisfaction.

• Invite lost customers to company-wide events to demonstrate your level of commitment.

• Customers leave for a wide variety of reasons, some because they had an unpleasant experience, others because

they felt unappreciated, or those that no longer needed your products and services. How your business responds

to your customers’ departures has an enormous impact to your revenue stream and could adversely affect public

perception giving your competitors the upper hand.

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LOYALTY PROGRAMSWhether you’re a small business or global franchise, investing time and resources in a loyalty program is a major

component of corporate strategy. While expanding your customer base is essential to business growth, long-term

customers should not be taken for granted. Promoting customer loyalty is crucial for many reasons. Some of the

benefits include:

Repeat Business

Greater Volume

Cross-Selling Opportunities

Competitive Advantage

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Increased Profit Margins

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LOYALTY PROGRAM SOLUTIONS“Most businesses today are at a very basic level in

how they use loyalty programs, and many customers

see them as punitive. Businesses that do reward

programs right can garner incredible loyalty,” says

Harvard Business School senior lecturer José Alvarez.

A well thought-out loyalty program can help iden-

tify purchase data from regular customers. Once

shopping habits are tracked, businesses can better

anticipate their customers’ needs. Loyalty programs

can then be tailored to resemble customer behavior.

The following provides examples of successful loyalty

programs that have proved successful for both small

and large businesses.

TRADITIONAL LOYALTY PROGRAMS

Simple Points System – Customers work toward a

certain amount of points to earn rewards.

Tier System – Customers join a loyalty program and

receive an initial reward. Value of the reward increases

as they move up the “loyalty ladder.”

Upfront Fee for VIP Benefits – Customers are

charged a one-time fee to simplify the buying

process.

Coalition Program – Customers benefit from a stra-

tegic partnership between two service providers that

provide complimentary services.

Games – Customers win rewards by participating in

competitive games.

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ONLINE LOYALTY PROGRAMS

Mobile Integration – Mobile apps allow consumers to make payments via a QR code.

Mobile apps store consumer transaction history and encrypt card data requiring use of a Pin number for access.

The app also tracks points and offers discounts.

Social Media Integration – Consumers tag certain items online and gain rewards as they recruit friends to

register with and make purchases on specific websites.

Consumers are rewarded via their Facebook likes and WordPress comments.

PunchTab Integration – PunchTab is the world’s first, instant loyalty platform reaching over 20 million consumers

across hundreds of sites that have integrated companys’ loyalty programs. With PunchTab, publishers, retailers,

and application vendors deploy tightly integrated reward programs to their users in minutes with no development

or marketing costs. Consumers can immediately authenticate through popular social networks and start earning

loyalty points that are redeemable for exclusive offers, gift cards, and custom rewards.

Digital Integration – Consumers earn rewards by sharing their information via Facebook, Twitter, digital and

in-store scavenger hunts using a points system.

It is important to realize that active customer engagement is the precursor to loyalty. Customers have to know they

matter and believe that loyalty programs are not convoluted schemes to “win” trust but a way to show appreciation

for their commitment to the company.

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYSAn organization must be well-versed in relation-

ship management to attain long-term growth and

profitability. Responding to your customers’ needs,

following up after a sale, going the extra mile in recti-

fying a problem are simple steps that contribute to

customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction surveys assist management

in developing strategies to achieve the all-important

goal of gaining and retaining customers. Surveys play

a key role in identifying opportunities for improve-

ment. They can also pinpoint areas that can be

leveraged to achieve business growth and expansion.

Many factors are involved in orchestrating a customer

satisfaction survey. It is truly a process.

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYSThe early stages of development are crucial and have to

be constructed and well-thought out to be worth the time

and effort. If the proper steps are followed, your survey can

yield reliable and credible results which can be acted upon.

To begin, you have to decide whether your survey will

be administered online or offline. This determines the

nuts and bolts of the survey from design and format

to data collection and analysis. With the emergence

of social media, eMarketing, mobile apps and over-

whelming access to the internet—businesses are now

looking to online surveys to judge performance.

There are many practical purposes of online surveys

that benefit both the business and the customer.

Online surveys make the collection of data analysis

a more efficient and cost-effective process. Online

survey tools offer analytics which can track activity

in real-time and repeat deployments. These types of

surveys also offer anonymity increasing your chances

of getting honest and frank input from respondents.

To facilitate the success of your customer satisfaction

surveys, please use the following tips as a helpful guide:

• Define your goals to drive the execution and

delivery of your survey.

• Determine if your first survey will be a bench-

marking survey.

• Recruit the “right” target audience and segment

accordingly.

• Determine the survey time period.

• Structure questions that complement your data

analysis.

• Keep your survey short and simple to encourage

survey completion.

• Use constructive survey tools to capture your

results facilitating data compilation and analysis.

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THE END PROCESSAfter appropriate data analysis and results compi-

lation are completed, you should ask the following

questions. Who will receive and use the results? How

will they be used? Will the findings be shared with

your participants? Where will they be posted? These

inquiries require your upmost consideration because

they affect how your customers view your motivation

behind the survey. Generally, your customers want to

know their opinions matter and will be acted upon.

When your survey findings are evaluated by the appro-

priate individuals within your organization and shared

with your participants, it is crucial to devise a formal

action plan and carry out the necessary deliverables

regarding the identified improvement opportunities.

This will validate your entire survey and show that you

do listen to the voice of your customers.

MWHPR offers a Customer Satisfaction Program

to enhance your customer retention efforts while

improving your products and services. Our CRS will

work with you in designing and structuring your

survey using the proper tools to capture and analyze

survey findings.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAININGStatistics show that roughly 90 percent of the time, customers will sever ties if they have an unpleasant

customer experience.

Customer Retention expert Michael Lowenstein, Vice President for loyalty management at Harris Interactive,

states that employee engagement and loyalty have a direct relationship to customer satisfaction. “Employees

directly contribute to both customer disappointment and delight. It is essential that companies have research

and analysis methods that link employee performance to customer behavior so they can hire, train, recognize,

and reward employees for adding value to customer relationships.”

To initiate employees into the customer engagement process, they must be well-equipped with the proper

tools to enhance the customer experience. Because customer service representatives are often the first line of

customer contact, they must demonstrate proper telephone etiquette. By clarifying the proper way to answer

an incoming call or end a call, employees add value and give the customer the incentive to call back should the

need arise. This is why telephone training is crucial for customer retention. Employees are coached in handling

various types of personalities such as disgruntled customers.

The following provides varying forms of customer services training that are in practice today.

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TRAINING OPTIONS

IN-HOUSE TRAINING

Customer service training conducted in-house can be

customized to accommodate the immediate needs of

the company and compliment the corporate culture.

Employees are more willing to participate in a familiar

atmosphere. Because an “outside” trainer,” is not

involved, costs are relatively contained.

(EXTERNAL) PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Employees are exposed to a multitude of customer

service best practices from an outside source that has

varied experience in the subject matter. Participants may

take instruction better from an outside source versus a

representative within their own company. Because profes-

sional training can be costly, you may want to explore the

merits of in-house training then evaluate accordingly.

TRAINING SEMINARS

Similar to (external) professional training, seminars

introduce participants to a wide range of ideas and view-

points from both the instructor and other participants.

Seminars also promote social interaction where best

practices can be gleamed. However, they are usually not

tailored to your organization’s goals and objectives.

VIDEO TRAINING

Organizations employ customer service training

videos when the subject matter is more industry

specific. This training is cost-effective as one set of

videos can be used for any number of employees.

Video training also offers scheduling convenience.

The drawback is that there is no social interaction

among participants and the instructor.

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ONLINE INSTRUCTION

Online customer service training gives employees

independent access to customer service training

modules. For some time, online methods of

training were criticized for their lack of two-way

interaction. However, with the dawn of social

media, two-way interactions are instantaneous.

Companies must evaluate the type of customer

service training that mirrors their corporate

strategy and gauge the success rate. This will

facilitate choosing the appropriate training curric-

ulum that will have a positive impact on their

retention efforts.

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CUSTOMER RETENTION RATEThe customer retention rate enables clients to evaluate their relationship building efforts, lower cost, and maxi-

mize profitability. The retention rate also helps clients identify operational issues affecting their ability to attract

and retain customers.

The customer retention rate is considered a factor of frequency; the percentage of customers that subscribe to

client products and services on a regular basis. While there is not one standard method of measurement, the

most widely used calculation translates as the number of “repeat” customers over the total number of existing

customers.

While this formula applies in most cases, the CRS helps our clients decide what variables to include in the

calculation such as customers on retainer, customers that sign on midyear, etc. The key is to analyze repeat

customers over a long enough period of time to gain an accurate picture of your current retention practices. The

majority of organizations review their retention rate on an annual basis.

Once the retention rate is determined, clients can set appropriate benchmarks to gauge success and continu-

ally improve the process. Research suggests that a small 5 percent increase in customer retention can lead to a

75 percent increase in profits so it is critical for businesses to identify any obstacles that are adversely impacting

business growth and implement tangible solutions.

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CUSTOMER RETENTION VALUE PROPOSITION

The Customer Retention Specialist (CRS) will ensure our clients establish solid customer retention initiatives,

increase retention rates, and develop mutually beneficial relationships. These strategies will create an environ-

ment where their customers are valued, appreciated, and add to the bottom-line long-term.

For additional information about the MWHPR Customer Retention service, please contact

Carolyn Hartmann at (713) 840-6392.

Carolyn Hartmann

Customer Retention Specialist

(713) 840-6392

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713.840.6392

Fax 832.698.2882

1 RIVERWAY, STE. 1700 | HOUSTON, TX 77056

info@mwhpublicrelations.com

mwhpublicrelations.com

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