Build Your Customer Loyalty And Help them Buy More From You

Customer loyalty! It’s something most business owners take for granted … until their customers leave them and go to another provider.

“My customers love me. They would never go to another [accountant, cleaning service, designer …] etc.” … and then they do just that!

The reality is there are a lot of competitors vying for your customers’ attention and money, and if you don’t make them feel special, they will eventually go to someone who does when the pain of disconnect becomes less than the indignity of being taken for granted.

I can’t tell you how many clients have assured me that their customers are different – and then they come back the next week moaning that their best customer just dumped them.

Build a Loyal Herd and Make Them Feel Important!

Have you ever watched the ads on TV offering special rates and bonuses to new customers? They make me mad – especially ones by internet service providers and banks – and it’s a really bad business strategy because it sends the wrong message to existing customers.

Your existing customers are the ones who pay your bills each month, so it’s foolish to offend them while your out chasing new customers and fawning over them, and it’s also bad economics. Since it costs two or three times more to attract a new customer than it does to upsell an old customer, it makes sense to ensure that your current customers only leave you when they die (or move away, if you have a local business).

It’s really not that hard to communicate a genuine interest to your current customers – and you should be genuinely interested in their welfare for many reasons (some of them economic).

Apart from more altruistic reasons, loyal customers will buy more products and services from you, and they’ll do it cheerfully.

Communication is Key

Providing value and staying touch lets your clients know they’re important enough for you to invest in communicating with them regularly (apart from sending them sales letters and invoices).

A client of mine in the alternative health arena said that after only 4 months her patients are asking about the newsletter and looking forward to it. They also tend to come into the clinic more often and are more receptive to upsells – some of them even ask for extra services they’ve learned about through the newsletter.

Whether you get feedback or not, your business will grow faster and stronger when you communicate regularly with customers and entertain them as well as providing value.

Never Be Boring

Boring is the ultimate sin in marketing. Put some thought into your emails, newsletters, and other communications so that they entertain your customers as well as provide value. Most of your customers are desperately looking for entertainment – just think about the amount of time people spend on social media and games.

If you entertaining them, your customers will never leave you (unless your service standards slip)!