In selling one has to consider the high cost of landing new customers versus the high profitability of a loyal customer base, you might want to reflect upon your current business strategy.
These four factors will greatly affect your ability to build a loyal customer base:
1. Products that are highly differentiated from those of the competition.
2. Higher-end products where price is not the primary buying factor.
3. Products with a high service component.
4. Multiple products for the same customer.
Market To Your Own Customers!: Giving a lot of thought to your marketing programs aimed at current customers is one aspect of building customer loyalty.
If Three years ago a house was painted, and it's now due for another coat. It is time to make a call on the customer. It would be a lot less expensive than getting new customers through his newspaper ad, and if the customer is happy with the work he won’t ask for get four competing bids. Keep all the information you can on your customers and don't hesitate to ask for the next sale.
Use Complaints To Build Business: When customers aren't happy with your business they usually won't complain to you - instead, they'll probably complain to just about everyone else they know - and take their business to your competition next time. That's why an increasing number of businesses are making follow-up calls or mailing satisfaction questionnaires after the sale is made. They find that if they promptly follow up and resolve a customer's complaint, the customer might be even more likely to do business than the average customer who didn't have a complaint.
In many business situations, the customer will have many more interactions after the sale with technical, service, or customer support people than they did with the sales people. So if you're serious about retaining customers or getting referrals, these interactions are the ones that are really going to matter. They really should be handled with the same attention and focus that sales calls get because in a way they are sales calls for repeat business.
Reach Out To Your Customers!: Contact . . . contact . . . contact with current customers is a good way to build their loyalty. The more the customer sees someone from your firm, the more likely you'll get the next order. Send Christmas cards, see them at trade shows, stop by to make sure everything's okay.
Send a simple newsletter to your customers-tell them about the great things that are happening at your firm and include some useful information for them. Send them copies of any media clippings about your firm. Invite them to free seminars. The more they know about you, the more they see you as someone out to help them, the more they know about your accomplishments-the more loyal a customer they will be.
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