It’s much easier (and cheaper) to keep a customer once you’ve acquired them than to churn through one-and-done buyers—but they’re not going to stick around just because you want them to. Today’s consumers are always shopping around, looking for the best deal and/or experience.

Use these five ideas to boost your customer retention and keep acquisition costs down. Remember: Repeat business is a win-win for both you and your customers once they understand how much easier it is to make you their one-and-only print provider.

1. Customer Portals

Password-protected portals make re-ordering a piece of cake for your existing customers, incentivizing them to keep coming back. They simply log in to their portal to access their order history, track current orders and easily place new orders. This streamlines the ordering process for them and you, saving time, money and hassle.

2. Customer Reviews and Testimonials

Even current customers look for social proof—especially new ones. Did they make the right decision? Are you a really trusted provider? What’s the overall quality of your work? To turn first-time buyers into regular customers, use reviews and testimonials from satisfied customers on your website, on your social media platforms, in your emails—everywhere people are looking for proof that you are, indeed, qualified to be their printer of choice.

3. Educational Resources

Educational content like printing tips, design guides and industry trends add value for your customers. You can provide content like this in a blog on your website, through e-newsletters or white papers, and, of course, videos. 

Pro tip: Choose a topic (“Design trends for 2024,” for example), create a solid piece of content (a meaty blog article or white paper), then use that content to create smaller bite-sized pieces: social media posts, email blurbs, a YouTube video, landing page content etc. Repurposing original content in several forms is a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

4. Contact and Support

Nothing is more frustrating for a first-time customer than not knowing how to contact you—especially if they want to talk to a live person. There’s a time and place for chat bots, but they can be frustrating if that’s all you offer. Provide multiple communication channels, such as phone, email and live chat to give customers a way to get in touch, if they need to discuss an issue.

5. Email and Print Newsletters

Stay in touch! Keep your customers updated on new products, additional services, promotions, company news, industry trends, who’s who on your team—regular communication helps form a relationship and keeps your business on customers’ minds.

You can do this through email newsletters, but also, you are a printer, right? So, quarterly print newsletters that showcase your brilliant work are a great way to provide information and remind people about how good you are.

As always, we’re here to help you in any way we can, especially as it relates to your website. Connect with a client success consultant to be sure you’re using your PrinterPresence site to its fullest potential.