Many businesses are so focused on acquiring new customers that they forget about keeping their current customers happy. Besides it making logical business sense to care for your customers, it makes profit sense as well. If you provide outstanding service to your customers, they are likely to remain a customer of yours longer.
Just a small increase in the amount of time a customer remains your customer can drop huge profits to your bottom line. If you sell products or service routinely purchased, supplements, haircuts, consulting, golf, medical care, etc., a 10% increase in the length of time a customer stays with you equals a 10% increase in revenue!
There are many other important benefits to raising your customer service to a higher level. That same customer is more likely to refer others to your business – a form of marketing that costs you zero.
Here Are 5 Proven Tips For Increasing Customer Loyalty:
Research your competitors. Often competitors are serving their customers in positive ways, which you may not be using. Shop your competitors, determine what they are doing well, and adopt any techniques you are not using for your business.
Make it easier for customers to do business with you. Carefully examine the steps a customer is currently taking to buy from you and identify some ways to make buying easier. For example, you might eliminate some unneeded steps in the buying process or you might develop one or more ways for the buying process to take less time.
Provide a generous return policy. One chain, Bed Bath and Beyond, is known for taking any merchandise back for a replacement product no matter how long ago it was purchased. Although one would think there is a cost associated with this liberal policy, the benefits in terms of what other customers have to say to potential customers about the experience shopping at the company is huge.
One Up Your Competition. Out-service your competitors at every turn. For example, provide a no questions asked one-year money back guarantee when a competitor is much less liberal. Or provide added value services that make doing business with you a stellar experience.
Make it More Convenient for a Customer to Do Business with You. For example, add delivery…bring take out order to their car…provide online appointment booking…pre-fill out their information on na application and so on.
Just remember, even 3-5% longer customer relationships are meaningful, much less the inevitable added referrals that will come your way.
To your success,
Scott
