Why you need to focus on marketing that educates, and how to do it.
The average attrition rate for businesses in the US is anywhere from 15% to 20%, depending on the industry and source. Some attrition is accounted for by moving, change in lifestyle, or death. However, the most significant percentage is due to clients and patients choosing to take their business elsewhere.
One of the most important things you can do to decrease your attrition rate is educating your clients/patients. According to a study published in the Journal of Service Research, educating your clients/patients strengthens their trust in you.
In addition to strengthening trust, continually educating clients/patients can:
- Increase loyalty
- Help them communicate their needs more clearly
- Empower them to take a more active part in the buying decision
- Reduce complaints
- Increase satisfaction after service is complete
- Prompt clients/patients to ask about services they otherwise would not, and
- Increase the likelihood of them referring you to their friends and family
Just a 5% increase in client/patient retention can result in a 25% to 95% increase in profitability! It’s more important than ever to keep in touch with your clients and patients, but the way you do it matters!
How To Educate Your Clients/Patients Effectively
Far too often, I see Facebook feeds, Blogs, Instagram feeds, etc. filled almost entirely with fluff pieces. While these aren’t necessarily bad, and certainly have their place, they do little to increase trust or loyalty, and almost nothing to increase client/patient retention.
So, what type of content should you include? First of all, it’s important to communicate with your clients/patients about the services you offer, and in a way they understand. Start by picking a few services you provide that you would like to focus on. When you are writing a post for Facebook or your Blog, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Write at a level your reader will understand.
Make sure that you’re writing at a level most of your audience will understand. The average American only reads at an 8th-grade level or lower. So, the more conversational and simple you can write, the better! Even if you are confident people in your area have a higher average reading level, error on the lower side.
You won’t offend anyone by writing more clearly and simply, but you will lose people’s attention by writing above their reading level.
Stay away from using industry-specific acronyms and terms.
The average person will have to work harder to read and understand what you write if it’s filled with industry-specific jargon. Or, they may miss your point entirely! Before writing, imagine you are talking to a 5th-grader, then use language they would understand.
Focus on the reader.
Make sure to focus your writing on the reader and what they will gain with your service, or lose by passing on it. People are primarily motivated by loss and fear. So point out what benefit they could be missing, or the long-term issues they could be facing. However, don’t let your writing become mostly doom and gloom. After you touch on loss and fear, follow it up with the positive benefits of the service and how you can help make their life better or achieve their goals.
Remember, continually educating your clients/patients of the services you provide is one of the most important steps you can take in decreasing attrition and increasing trust and loyalty.
If you would like to take advantage of the benefits of continually educating your clients/patients, but feel like you don’t have the time to fit it into your busy schedule, give us a call or send us a message. As an added bonus, our clients have permission to use the content from our newsletter on their blog or other digital services each month they mail.