Time for another week of events! Let’s talk about retention.

Hey! Andres here,

It’s another week to network and expand our connections. Retaining customers, donors, volunteers, and just people in business can be vital for businesses so I wanted to share a few things that I learned this week.

Here’s what we got this week:

• How to increase retention

• Local events to go to

• Nice coffee shop in Buford, GA

Alright, let’s do this.

“Lean forward moment” of the week - How to increase retention🧲

This week’s “lean forward moment” came from a non-profit client of mine who, like many, has a great vision for their company. But suffer from a big issue.

Keeping donors coming back.

That made me think: “Would customer retention apply in a similar manner?”

It sure does.

Most non-profits bleed donors and volunteers not because people stop caring, but because they feel ignored.

Donors sign up. Donate. And then… crickets.

No one follows up. No one checks in. No one makes them feel like they or their contribution matter.

In business, it is similar, if a customer pays, get a service or product but never hear back, everything ends there. In a similar way, when customers are taken care of faster (few minutes/hours) rather than days, they are 67% more likely to stay.

Here’s what I read about speeding up response times:

First, map every possible donor/volunteer/customer (select the one that applies) issue into three buckets:

• Can solve immediately (ex: tax receipts, event details, volunteer sign-up questions)

• Need more info (ex: major donor inquiries, partnership offers, custom volunteer requests)

• Need approval (ex: grant requests, funding decisions, special accommodations)

Then, create three corresponding response templates:

• Bucket 1: Answer instantly. Automate tax receipts, event confirmations, and FAQs.

• Bucket 2: Acknowledge & request details. Example: “Great question! To help you best, could you clarify [specific detail]?”

• Bucket 3: Set expectations. Example: “I’m escalating this to [Name]. They’ll reach out within [timeframe].”

Ideally you are responding within a few minutes (5 minutes is optimal) even if it’s just to acknowledge that it was read.

Think of it like flight delays. You don’t get mad when they keep you updated. You get mad when they leave you hanging.

Train someone within your business or organization to respond fast with something rather than slow with everything. Speed beats perfection when it comes to engagement.

Hope this helps!!

🖥️ Convert more website users into clients

🗓️ Now, the events…

Local shop of the week - Tchin Tchin Coffee Buford

Not an ad – just a cool spot you can visit

I actually found this place by accident (a happy accident) I actually thought I had a coffee meeting that day but rather I was looking at the wrong calendar day haha.

Anyway, this place is great, friendly staff and great tea. I tried their chai, and I am trying their matcha next :)

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Thank you for reading! Quick thing before I go:

1. If you are new or would like to read older posts, check out this page. There is a backlog of previous weeks of “The Networking Desk”

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See you next week.

- Andres Inciarte