Tips On Keeping Customers For Life
It's the peak of summer and your air conditioner has broken. You track down a repair company book and they say they can fix it - in two weeks.
This might not have happened were you a regular customer. You might be part of the company's "front of the line" program, which means you get priority status.
Sound like the kind of perk that could make you a lifelong customer?
Programs and strategies akin to this "front of the line" program can be just the thing to transform a one time sale into a lifelong customer. There are lots of ways to do this, and here are some that could help you.
"If the business can't deliver on basics, then any other steps will be wasted effort," says Ruth Stevens of eMarketing Strategy, a consulting company. In other words, far too many focus on keeping customers, while losing sight of the fact that their product or service isn't what it should be. Be certain that the core of what you do is deserves long-term loyalty.
Approach everyone as a potential lifelong customer: "Don't adopt the mindset that a customer must 'earn' their way into your good graces says Erin Duckhorn of Crucial Technology, a memory upgrade provider. "Instead, we assume from the very beginning that this new customer is going to be a long-term loyal customer and treat them as such." By treating your customers respectfully from the start and expecting that they will pay on time -- rather than asking them about payment deadlines before it ever becomes an issue -- can engender long-term loyalty.
Once the basics are working, one way to win a customer for life is to exceed their expectations. Always try to do better. For instance, E.D. Foods, an online provider of soups and other foods, wins plaudits for placing orders for items that customers want but can't find in its catalogue.
Pay more attention to the needs of your clientele and less on your earnings growth. Of course profits are crucial. But long-term solvency comes from customers who are also there for the long haul. "I've always asked my customers' opinions of new product ideas," says Ellen Cagnassola of MaryEllen's Sweet Soaps, an online soap retailer. "Keeping them a part of the process can inspire them in more ways than one."
An effective strategy to win long-term clientele doesn't exist in a vacuum. Treat your employees as you would a customer who you want to keep coming back. That will encourage staff to entice customer loyalty and maintain a supportive, responsive environment.
Great service or products are terrific, but you should always strive to lure customers into the long-term fold. In Franklin Plumbing's case, that means discounts for repeat customers. For Fern Reiss of Publishing Game.Com an independent resource for readers, authors and book publishers, it's a 25% discount on updated titles if customers send in the cover of an old one. "Because my books are updated every three to six months, and because the publishing industry changes so quickly, many people who like the book end up re-ordering on a regular basis," she says. "They get the latest information, for sale -- and I get the repeat business."
Some customers are more trouble than they're worth. Track how much effort you put into keeping a customer satisfied; if it's too costly or too much work, it's probably better to put your lifelong-customer building muscle elsewhere.
Is your customer service winning or loosing you business? Find out by nominating your company for an Australian Customer Service Award today.
About the author:
Jeff Wuorio is a veteran freelance writer and author based in southern Maine. He writes about small-business management, marketing and technology issues.