While generating new leads to expand a customer base is essential for a B2B company’s success, customer retention is often overlooked. It's easy to become fixated solely on finding new buyers, only to unintentionally lose touch with customers who had previously given their business.

However, forgetting about existing customers comes with a very literal cost. Acquiring a new client for a B2B company can be four times more expensive than maintaining an existing customer's business. With the time and resources it takes to onboard a new client, B2B companies could invest in a retention marketing strategy to help foster their relationship with existing customers.

Strategies for B2B Retention Marketing

At Ecreative, in addition to helping you expand your business by generating new leads, we also provide you with tools to engage and retain current customers. With that, we'll look at four B2B strategies for customer retention.

1. Use Social Media to Create a Community Around Your Business

While social media might seem like a resource more relevant for B2C companies, it has proven to be a beneficial tool for B2B companies when leveraged strategically. Social media platforms provide B2B companies with a space for their niche customer base to engage in conversation and updates revolving around your industry's manufacturing trends.

While there may not always be consumer-level products or splashy photos to post, a consistent and strategic B2B social media campaign can build a centralized virtual community around your company. This centralized community helps provide your existing clients with more reasons to stick around.

As an industrial SEO digital marketing company, Ecreative specializes in developing social media strategies for the industrial marketplace. We help B2B companies get the most out of their social media presence, leveraging social platforms for strategic customer engagement and retention.

2. Offer Specials or Discounts to Reward Customer Loyalty

By offering your existing customers discounts or exclusive offers, you demonstrate a tangible benefit for customers to remain loyal to your company. Even small gestures can go a long way in reminding your existing clients that you appreciate them.

A great way to communicate special offers to your client base is through a targeted email campaign. The data and information gathered by Ecreative’s website tools inform you of your customers’ trends, helping you make calculated decisions for special offers and pricing. This is a great way to strategically leverage digital communication tools for customer retention.

3. Investigate WHY Customers Have Left

Like every company in existence, you will inevitably have customers who leave. While losing business is never enjoyable, it can provide an excellent opportunity to discover the reasons that led to the customer's departure.

One way to collect this kind of information is through Google Reviews. Customer reviews – positive and negative – can paint you a picture of the areas you need to address to increase your client retention. Ecreative can help you get established with an optimized Google Business profile.

If one of your clients posts a negative review on your Google Business profile, take the opportunity to demonstrate good customer service. Listen to what the reviewer is saying, attempt to reconcile with the customer, communicate a solution-oriented resolution, and consider adjusting your business practices based on the criticisms you receive.

Even if you don’t necessarily win the disgruntled customer back, a thoughtful public response can communicate to your broader customer base that you are engaged and value your customers.

4. Stay In Touch with Your Existing Customers

Like any ongoing relationship, communication is essential. Staying in touch with your existing customer base is a great way to maintain a connection with your clients and encourage retention. Similar to the targeted approach for customer rewards, email campaigns are a proven way to stay on your clients' radars in a more general strategy.

Another tool for staying in touch with your customer base is an SEO-friendly blog. Incorporating a blog into your website that discusses the ins and outs of your industry is an excellent way to keep your customer base engaged. A well-maintained blog also helps drive traffic to your site through SEO content.

Develop a Customer Retention Digital Marketing Strategy with Ecreative

Ecreative is an industrial digital SEO marketing agency located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We provide B2B companies with digital marketing tools, including:

• Analytics Services
• SEO-Focused Copywriting
• Website Development
• Targeted Email Campaigns
• Social Media Strategies
• Blog Development

Contact Ecreative Today to Get Started on Your Personalized Digital Marketing Strategy

Contact us to learn more about how Ecreative can help you develop a custom marketing strategy for customer retention. Our team of digital marketers, web developers, and copywriters are ready to provide you with the tools you need to find success in your online presence.