Does Slack Improve Customer Retention?

Customer retention is the ultimate differentiator between organizations that thrive and those that fail in today's environment of intense competition.

The stakes are particularly high for B2B companies, as losing even a single customer could result in significant revenue loss. No business wants to be in this situation, so they hire customer success managers whose role is to keep customers happy and increase their lifetime value.

And although there are numerous methods to earn consumer loyalty, Slack could perhaps be the most effective of them all.

Interested in learning more? Keep reading this article where we discuss how Slack’s capabilities can help you maximize customer retention.

Why Does B2B Customer Retention Matter?

Customer retention, especially in B2B markets, is critical for several reasons.

Firstly, a high customer attrition rate in B2B can be painful for a business simply because B2B clients carry more weight than their B2C counterparts. What do we mean by that?

In plain, B2B markets have fewer buyers but relatively high-value accounts. Thus, losing just a few high-ticket customers could negatively affect the company’s revenue and existence.

Likewise, high B2B customer acquisition cost (CAC) can be another determining factor when considering customer retention strategies. 

Let’s take a look at the top five industries for the highest inorganic (paid marketing) CAC per customer:

Frequently, acquiring a new customer is more expensive than retaining one, so every company must try to keep their existing clients engaged.

And last but not least is the upselling of new products and upgrades you develop as a business. Existing customers are more inclined to purchase from you over and over again than a newly acquired client.

In fact, they’re 50% more likely to give a shot to your new product, so it’s worth trying to solidify their bond with your brand. In turn, they’ll not only reward you with loyalty but also refer your business to other companies. 

It’s a win-win, isn’t it?

3 Ways Slack Can Improve Customer Retention

Now that we've examined the benefits of retaining customers let’s delve deeper into how Slack can enhance customer retention.

Slack as a Means of Gathering Feedback, and Acting On It

Customer retention largely depends on actively listening to your customers, especially when they experience hiccups with your product or service. However, simply sending a customer feedback form via email will not suffice.

B2B products are complex, so a direct outreach effort when the customer is already thinking of leaving will probably not work.

Therefore, Slack can be your key to customer retention since you can converse with your product users in real-time, allowing them to naturally voice their opinions and concerns about your product.

Indeed, unlike a customer survey form with rating-based questions, Slack allows you to build personal relationships through conversations, creating a trust-infused environment where your clients feel comfortable sharing the good and bad about their experience.

And, as you act on the qualitative feedback from Slack’s messages, you can immediately put it right and increase your customers’ satisfaction. A satisfied customer equals a retained customer who isn’t looking for an alternative!

Slack as a Secret Weapon to Unbeatable Customer Service

Customers' ability to stay loyal to a business is directly tied to the speed at which it reacts and resolves urgent support queries and problems.

Slack enables the provision of a hassle-free and fast problem resolution that is likely to impress your customers and make them stay. And thanks to tools such as Thena, a customer retention game can be like a walk in the park.

Say a customer messages you in Slack Connect Channel with a bug or a question. Thena recognizes the customer’s ask and turns it into a request, which gets picked up by a relevant staff member who can help the customer with detailed instructions or an immediate solution to their problem.

Thanks to Thena’s conversational ticketing feature, you can save precious follow-up time and set clear expectations with the customers, which they will appreciate.

After all, customers expect speedy resolutions and clear communications, which can put your business bar high from your competitors and boost brand loyalty.

Slack as a Platform to Share Customer Retention Across Your Organization

Customer retention is everyone’s responsibility, so Slack is a perfect place to bring light to customer problems early on and connect relevant people for proactive support.

On Slack, your customer service, product, technical, finance, and marketing teams can jump in when needed, which ultimately facilitates a seamless customer journey and personalized approach–all of which contribute to a robust customer retention strategy.