Are You Maximising Your Existing Customers?

Raving fans are customers who are so over the moon with us that they not only tell all their friends and colleagues about us, they actually bring them to us and help us to sell to them.

It’s a frightening fact of business life is that we spend six times more to attract new customers to our businesses than we do to up-sell, on-sell and generally over-service our existing customers so that they stay our customers and don’t leave us and go to our competition.

Just to add another frightening fact, 68 percent of customers who leave a company do so simply because of a perceived indifference. You actually didn’t do anything wrong, the customer just thought you didn’t care enough!

How do you show you didn’t care enough? Well, it can be in many different small ways. You forget to thank them, forget their name, don’t offer that extra little bit, fail to suggest that accessory which would be perfect or any one of dozens of other little perceived slights that your competition can capitalize on.

Here are some simple tips that you can introduce in your business today which will help you keep your customers coming back, bringing their friends with them and, in the end, shouting your name from rooftops telling people why, if they’re not dealing with you, they’re missing out on something wonderful!

  • Send them thank you cards
  • Sell them everything they need to gain maximum benefit from their purchase
  • Use their name frequently
  • Call them up just to make sure everything is going well
  • Invite them to special sales just for a privileged few, exceptional clients
  • Call them up when something new arrives in stock that you know they would like
  • Ask them for their suggestions as to how you could improve your service to them
  • Follow up & follow up again
  • Under promise and over deliver

None of this is difficult, it starts with you and you must lead by example because your team does everything you do. And always remember that if you care for your customers they will care for you and help you to grow your business.

Recommended Read : Raving Fans : A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service by Ken Blanchard