Businesses can retain more repeat customers by being customer-centric or prioritizing customer experience before, during, and after each sale. Research suggests that companies who are customer-centric are 60 percent more lucrative than those who aren’t. Here are strategies businesses can take to put their customers first.

Be Reachable

Not being able to access customer support easily is frustrating. Businesses must make it as simple as possible for consumers to interact with them. For example, Zappos makes accessibility effortless by posting their phone number significantly at the top of all their webpages, noting their “24/7” availability.

Deliver Exemplary Customer Service

Customer service needs to extend beyond the point-of-sale, which adds value to both business and consumer. The company should be available to help their customers solve any problems they have. Better yet, companies can offer customer service tools to help consumers solve future problems independently so that they don’t have to wait for assistance.

Engage with Customers in Person

With customers wanting access to companies through social media, it might seem antiquated to offer face-to-face contact. On the contrary, in-person events or calls can do wonders to make customers feel engaged and valued, particularly when they can provide feedback.

Foresee Customers’ Needs

It’s not enough for companies to offer services or products their consumers might want right now. They need to be innovative enough to anticipate what buyers desire far into the future. Need anticipation is what Steve Jobs demonstrated by introducing the iPhone and iPad, thus putting Apple ahead of the mobile technology curve. Being future-oriented is very customer-centric because it places paramount importance on consumer needs.

Seek Consumer Feedback

Customer centricity requires regular and frequent communication with customers. That means not only reading and responding to reviews when customers offer them. Businesses also need to elicit feedback proactively before customers think to give it. Ways to communicate with customers include email, in-app messaging, chat, texts, and phone calls.

Engage in Customer-focused Marketing

Customer centricity needs to be a part of a company’s marketing strategy that retains loyal clients. Putting consumers front and center in the messaging and providing relevant and shareable content can encourage them to become promoters of the product.