XL31: Ed Frame - Retention is The New Acquisition

When it comes to selling to new customers or existing ones, the data is firmly on the side of the customers you have already. Research by Bain & Company found that a 5% increase in retention rate can lead to a rise in profit between 25% to 95%. Similarly, Invesp found that investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones.

Key to success is a world class post-sale customer experience. According to HubSpot Research, 55% of growing companies think it’s “very important” to invest in customer service programs. My next guest on the XL Podcast, Ed Frame from Exemplify, wants to help companies unlock the value of their existing customers. The challenge, Ed shares, is that companies may be stuck in the comfort zone of acquiring new customers, in paid advertising for example, and lack the processes and workflows to create a seamless experience once the sales gets the deal over the line.

And there’s good reason to invest in the post-sale experience. “Buyer’s Remorse” is real. We’ve all experienced doubt after a purchase, especially with higher ticket price services or products. Did I buy this on impulse? Did I make the wrong decision? When buyers experience this emotion, the experience can degrade rapidly, leading to higher servicing, recall and attrition costs. The good news is that small touches can have a big impact - a welcome onboarding call or video for example can allay initial buyer fears and set you up for a long term, profitable relationship with your customers. That means customers who buy again, and refer you to their friends.

All this requires good process, of course, and good process requires planning. In this podcast, Ed discusses what you need to map out a customer journey and the processes you need to create a world class post-sale customer experience.