As a coach, clients don’t grow on trees. Keeping the ones you have is crucial for creating a profitable business.
This article is the second part of an article series about customer retention. In the first part, we gave you five reasons why you could be losing your customers and how to solve the situation.
Why retaining clients is a good idea
When running a business you need to think about the company’s revenue. Coaching businesses are no different. Retaining clients cost less than acquiring them, and selling to existing clients is easier than new ones.
Keep in mind that revenue doesn’t care where it comes from, earned or saved.
There is no need to spend a lot of money on promotion when your clients are progressing, enjoying success, and speaking your praises. They will do the marketing for you.
Coaching quality and retention of clients goes hand in hand.
Offering high quality coaching is easier when doing it to someone you already know. No need to spend time gathering information and finding out what they like and want, because you already have that knowledge.
Reactivating customers who already know you and your coaching is one of the easiest and quickest ways to increase your revenue, and might lead to some of your best and most loyal customers.
How to retain your clients
So now we know why it’s a good idea for coaches to retain their customers. But how do you actually do it?
At Coach4Pro, we’re all about building relationships with customers, but we also believe that
great customer service, engagement and education are more than just the right thing to do – they’re also good for business.
To help you increase your own retention rates, we’ve compiled a list of 10 ideas on how coaches can retain customers.
1. Do a good job.
This one’s a no brainer. If you honestly think that you’re doing a good job, then you probably are.
2. Give extra value.
When time and money allows it, try to give some extra love to your customers. What do you think your customers would appreciate? If you don’t know, ask them!
3. Contact your customers.
Keeping contact with customers is important. And easy. But don’t think of it like something you
do when you have spare time or when you suddenly remember it. You should schedule meetings and calls and make sure that they happen. Or even better, create a contacting automation process that helps you out.
4. Putting in effort when the off-season hits.
Almost all markets have off and on seasons. If you’re coaching an athlete, then the off-season is easy to recognise. If your clients aren’t athletes, then it might be a bit more difficult to recognise the off-season. In this case, think about when their on-season is. Maybe after New Year’s Eve or when summer is closing in or when the summer holiday has ended.
You need to be ready when the on-season starts, which means you need to put in some preparatory work during the off-season.
5. Reward your most profitable customers.
Make your loyal customers feel special. By doing the little extra for them, you ensure that they keep purchasing at the same level or even more. Rewards can be anything from discounts to special events or simply just a personal email saying thank you.
6. Be passionate and engaged.
Having a coach that loves his or her job and shows it can be a real motivational boost for a client A positive coach often create positive clients.
7. Say thank you, show appreciation.
By telling how much the client is worth to you and showing gratitude can create a stronger
relationship. And we all know that a strong relationship between the coach and the client is a must have.
8. Be active yourself, be a role model.
Lead by example. Being a coach doesn’t mean that you have to be a great athlete, but to follow what you preach yourself creates a feeling of trust for your clients.
9. Active on social media.
Being a coach today pretty much means that you need to be on social media. Social media is a great marketplace to showcase your customers, share how much fun you and your clients are having and to display your expertise.
10. Ask for constructive feedback.
Try to create such an environment that the customer feels that he or she dares to complain. The
best way to improve your services is by the feedback you get from the ones who are actually using them. Be responsive to their needs and proactive in bringing new ideas to the table.
So there you have it. What are you waiting for? Go retain your clients!
Or read How To Provide Personal Coaching Online For Large Amounts Of People
Are you interested in knowing more about this topic?
Subscribe to our blog and news or send us an email to sales(a)coach4pro.com