Five Ways to Keep Your Customers

Five Ways to Keep Your Customers

by Karen Smith

Did you know that a sale coming from a new customer could cost you ten times as much as one coming from an existing one? While it's essential to bring in new customers to really grow your business, you should be "courting" your current customers on an ongoing basis. Try these strategies to retain their loyalty.

Successful business owners rely heavily on their past customers for repeat business because it takes less time and there are no advertising costs, direct mail campaigns, or face-to-face selling to contend with. Here are five things you can do on an ongoing basis to successfully "court" your current customers and retain their loyalty:

1. Really get to know them. This doesn't just mean calling them by name when you talk to them. It means being genuinely interested in them as people, not just as sources of revenue. Ask them about their families, jot down names, ages, etc. of each member. Find out what their hobbies are, their kid's and their spouse's hobbies too. Where do they vacation? You'd be surprised how much information you will have after just a few meetings. If you don't already have one, consider getting a contact manager like Symantec's ACT! or Microsoft Outlook. These programs will allow you to keep track of each customer's personal information, and they will also flag you every month when it's time to make the call.

2. Call them every month just to see how they're doing. Don't discuss business, just keep in touch. The purpose of your call is personal, not business. You should be able to keep the conversation going using the personal information you have collected. How is Steve doing in college? How did they like their trip to England? And don't let them discuss doing business with you either. If the conversation starts to go in that direction, steer it back to a personal one. Keep your calls short, only a few minutes, and then hang up. This lets the customer know you care about him or her as a person. If you don't have time to do this personally, designate someone in your office to do it; you need to keep in touch.

3. If you come upon something that you think would be of personal interest to your customers, send it to them. This might be a newspaper clipping, a new restaurant review for the gourmet, a new product for mountain climbers etc. And if you give this to them in person, again, don't make it a business call.

4. After you have established rapport, find out why they buy from you and sincerely ask for any advice they might have to help you serve them better. Listen to what they're saying, add their comments to your "personal file" to remind you what's important to them and consider using it if it's a good idea. Do not be defensive. You asked for the advice, so accept the criticism gratefully. If you listen to what they're telling you, you'll know how to keep their business. And putting some of their suggestions to use may help you to retain other customers too.

5. If your business involves any kind of receivables, call them to let them know when their order is complete. Do this before they call you to ask. If their order was just sent, let them know when they can expect to receive it. If you have just completed a project for them, ask when they would like it delivered. In other words, give them a "heads up" to show them you are aware of the project and are staying on top of things.

After you have used these techniques for awhile, you may find that the customers with whom you have developed a close personal relationship will almost fight to keep giving you their business. They'll be resistant to the efforts of your competitors and you may find that they're even willing to put up with a few of those inevitable annual price increases. And remember, a customer is not a customer until they are a repeat customer!

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© 2003 by Karen Smith. Karen is owner and President of Affordable Marketing Solutions, a consultancy providing custom-tailored sales advice, marketing strategies and Web site promotion for the small business owner.

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