You may think that once you’ve locked down a customer, it’s smooth sailing from there. But the truth is if you don’t work to keep your customers happy and to come back for more–well, someone else will. It can be challenging to know what to do to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, but luckily we’re here to help with six simple tips that will make all the difference:

1) Check-in with your team at least twice a week

2) Provide an exceptional experience every time

3) Be proactive about communication (including feedback)

4) Solve problems as they happen

5) Offer rewards and incentives for referrals.

6) Suprise and delight with swag, gifts, and specials.

It cost far less to keep a client than it does to acquire a new one. Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer, and companies that increase customer retention by 5% can increase profits from 25-95%. So keep an eye out on your customer churn rates, check in with your customer service team, and do your best to increase the customer lifetime value by increasing customer satisfaction. Happy clients mean more referrals, higher customer lifetime value (LTV), and less money needed to acquire new customers.

Let’s dig in deeper to the listed ideas above:

1) Check in with your team at least once a week to see how things are going with customers and ask for feedback on ways you can improve. Your customer service and sales team are on the ground floor interfacing with customers every day, so they know better than anyone else what improvements you can make!

2) Provide an exceptional experience whenever it comes to customer satisfaction, always over-deliver. The more happy customers you have, the less need for new ones, and already satisfied clients will refer more new business your way. A satisfied client returns and thus increases LTV.

3) Businesses who are proactive about communicating with customers increase customer satisfaction rates. According to Enkata’s research, assuming initiative in your support may raise customer retention rates by 3-5%. Taking action on your behalf may help you retain more clients. InContact conducted a study in which customers were generally pleased with proactive service. Eighty-seven percent of respondents are glad to be contacted proactively by businesses regarding customer care problems.

4) Solve problems as they happen. You can’t know ahead of time precisely what your customer needs are, so you have to be ready to adapt to whatever comes your way. Don’t leave things undone or let any small details slip by because you’ll end up losing customers. There’s no excuse for letting something go unresolved, even if it’s a minor issue.

5) Offer rewards and incentives for referrals. When your top consumers rave about your store, their friends and relatives will trust it. Who knows your product better than your customers? They have personal experience with your services and products, so when you reward customers for referring their friends, you’ll gain even more business.

6) Suprise and delight with swag, gifts, and specials. According to NielsenIQ, over 84% of customers are more inclined to stick with a company that has a loyalty program. Keep your clients on their toes by offering unexpected gifts or even special discounts for holidays or some other significant event. If you have a sales team and customer service team, give them access to funds for the easy use of surprising and delighting customers.

The goal of any business is to create a loyal customer base that will keep coming back for more. And that’s precisely what you will accomplish with these six simple customer retention strategies.