How are you retaining your customers? What causes you to go back to a business to buy from them again? With me, it takes something very simple: a cookie. Let me explain.

People in charge of retention marketing want to know what you think about your experience. This is crucial information if you want to get customers back in the door. If you know they are satisfied with their experience, you have an opportunity to incentivize them to make another purchase. If they are dissatisfied, you have the opportunity to correct the problem and retain their business. You have probably been to a number of businesses who tempt you to take an online survey after a purchase. This is typically printed on the back of your paper receipt with the enticement of putting your name into a drawing that will win a big prize. This is a way to get your opinion and ask if you want to get discounts on future purchases. I never take the surveys for the big prizes, however, I will take them for the little prize. Subway Restaurants will give you a cookie upon your next visit for taking their online survey. This is not one person winning the big prize, this is everyone getting a free cookie for their input on a customer satisfaction survey. It does two things: it tells the marketing people at Subway what I think and it gets me back for another purchase.

Here is another company that is doing things right in terms of retention marketing. Enterprise Car Rentals assigns an agent who will call you on the phone to make sure you are satisfied with your rental car. In a day where everything is web based, I find it refreshing that a person would take the time to call me on the phone and find out if I was satisfied. Again, it gives the agent the ability to fix any problems and retain my business.

I contrast that with a business where I recently made a purchase. I was attempting to make the purchase online, but ran into issues when I wanted to check out. In particular, I wanted to purchase more than the preselected options were going to allow online. I got on a chat line with a customer service representative who told me that I was not able to purchase larger quantities online, but I could call their customer service line. However, she also told me that the price would go up if I called! The price I saw online was discounted and the phone reps could not give me the same discounts. (I am not making this up!) Furthermore, she let me know that the price I was getting online was an incentive for new customers only. After six months, I would be treated as a returning customer and my price would go up! There is a company that does not get it when it comes to retaining business.

In the current business environment, it is imperative that you retain your customers. There are two things you have to do when you are trying to keep them coming back to you again and again. First, make sure they are satisfied with their first experience with you. You need to find out what they thought of your product or service from the standpoint of your quality, price/value, the speed of your service, and if there were any problems with the people they were dealing with in your company. Find a way to get this information from your customers. If there was a problem, fix it with the customer. Most people will forgive you once if you make it right. Second, give them a reason to come back. Beyond your value, give them the "cookie” that gives them a reason to come back through your doors once again. Retention marketing is key to making business profitable.