80 percent of sales comes from 20 percent of customers. With so much time and energy spent trying to attract new customers, are you properly retaining your current ones?
In business, you don't want to follow the George Clooney model of an "on-to-the-next-one" relationship with your customers. Rather than playing the field, you want to settle down. Getting some new faces is always nice, but the money is in the customers you already have. As the
white paper,
Seven Steps to Build Customer Loyalty,
notes, a two percent increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10 percent.
Simply changing your perspective is an easy way to build customer loyalty. Point out the benefits of doing business with you, rather than an outline what you have to offer. Not sure of the benefits customers may be looking for? Ask! Conduct surveys and lead discussion—this could save you money, as you won't have to use expensive market research.
Evaluating your customer service is another way to go. Successful businesses have three key customer service traits: Empathy, flexibility, and personalization. The cliché, "the customer is always right" is around for a reason: it builds the loyalty you want. You may perceive they are wrong, but it's better to take the loss and compensate the customer. With the fervor in social media these days, one unhappy customer can do a lot of damage. As you empathize with the customer, be flexible in finding the quickest, most effective solution to their problem, all the while being personable.
Incentives are a fabulous way to build loyalty. Think of all those "buy nine get the 10th free" cards you have in your wallet or purse. When customers are presented with artificial advancement toward a goal, they show greater persistence toward reaching that goal.
As we discussed before,
. To better retain customers, you can use it to monitor what people are saying about you. Doing so allows you to implement changes to improve services in real time. If your business collects email addresses, you can also ask customers directly for feedback by using short email surveys.
Knowing your customers is also an important thing for building loyalty. This is like when your significant other asks you why you love them. Understanding the demographics, geography, behaviors, and psychology of your customers allows you to better understand them. How old are they? Where are they from? What do they do? Knowing things like this allows you to better serve your customers.
Finally, create ambassadors for your business. An enjoyable experience can lead to customers wanting to outlet the details through word-of-mouth marketing. According to
Seven Steps
, 78 percent of internet users said consumers' recommendations are the most credible form of advertising. You'll find these ambassadors are the ones already most loyal to you, and they'll only help create more.
Investing in building a loyal customer base pays dividends if you do it correctly. To read more on how to build loyalty, visit
and read
Seven Steps to Build Customer Loyalty
.