SolveYourProblem
Article Series:
Start
A Home Business
Build
Client & Customer Loyalty
by Jeff Cohen
It's a well-known fact that it costs many
times more to acquire a new customer than to keep doing business
with your existing ones. For this reason, the best way to become
profitable is to have loyal customers who keep coming back
again and again. It's all about relationship building. So what
can you do?
Customers Aren't as Loyal as They Used to Be
It used to be that customers would find one service that met
their needs and stay with it for absolutely years. Now, though,
customers are fickle, and can all-too-easily be tempted away
by a competitor's offer if they feel that it sounds cheaper
or better than yours. So-called 'loyalty management' has become
more of a science than it ever used to be, and it's one that
you need to make use of if you don't want to be constantly
failing to retain your customers.
Offer Discounts for Repeat Business
You will see some businesses who give people a 'first-time'
discount, as a hook to get people to try their services. This
is entirely the wrong way to do it. What you should be trying
to do is reward loyalty by giving people a discount each time
they use your services. Over time, this makes it so that moving
to the competition looks like a ridiculous proposition for
them - why would they when they get a 20% discount from you
every time?
Keep Mailing Lists
You should have at least two mailing lists: one for your prospects
(people who might buy from you), and one for your customers
(people who have bought from you). You should lavish attention
on both lists, but especially on the existing customer one
- and really lay it on thick for anyone who's bought from you
more than once.
You need to be in contact with your regular customers as much
as you can, always understanding their needs and when they
might need you again. Don't worry about this costing a lot
in direct mail, as you can always do it by email. The secret
is this: contact, contact, contact. Send your regulars Christmas
cards, invite them to meet with you for lunch - anything you
can think of. A good tip is to always use the techniques that
your competitors are neglecting.
If your service is one that the customer will need at regular
intervals or a certain time of year, make sure you keep track
of this in your customer database and send something out then.
There's nothing worse than losing out on a customer's business
just because they didn't have your phone number to hand and
had a little extra time to see an offer from a competitor.
Another good thing to send to your mailing list is a newsletter,
either by email or post. Take a few hours each month to write
something with useful information about your industry that
your customers are likely to keep and find useful, and put
your logo on the top so that they can be reminded of you when
they see it. As a bonus, you can keep this material archived
on your website too, so it can be found by people searching
for related words in search engines.
Be Crazy About Feedback
You need to phone up as many customers as you can to get their
feedback after they deal with you. Make sure they were satisfied
with what you provided, offer to fix anything that they're
not happy with, and ask them if they can think of any way you
could improve. Customers will appreciate this - and they'll
like it even more if you actually implement their suggestions.
Provide a Personal Service
Go the extra mile to make your customer feel like they're
your friend, and not just a tracking number in your database.
Tailor everything you do to their needs, and make everything
easy for them. Don't leave them to do legwork that you could
be doing. After all, they're the customer.
Finally, cheesy as it might sound, customers really appreciate
a little thank you note when you've received their payment.
For an extra personal touch, you could handwrite it.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
> Home > Start
a Home Business Articles:
Main Page
|
