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Home  Marketing 7 Ways to Retain Loyal Customers
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7 Ways to Retain Loyal Customers |
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How do you retain your customers? Understand 7 steps for easier customer retention.
It is easy for a business owner to become so obsessed with marketing that he or she loses sight of retaining the company's existing customers. Drawing new people into the fold is pointless if they just turn around and leave again. Therefore, customer retention should become a large priority. Below are seven ways to retain loyal customers.
1. Offer Quality Goods and/or Services – This should be a given, but it bears repeating. No one will be loyal to your company if you are offering shoddy goods and/or services.
2. Listen to Your Customers' Needs – Feedback is crucial when it comes to operating a business that will make its customers happy. Offer a regularly manned phone number and online contact form in order to receive regular feedback and suggestions from customers.
3. Reward Valuable Customers – It might be prudent to start a rewards program for repeat or big-spending customers. If you sell products, for example, you may want to initiate a "Buy Nine, Get One Free" type of offer.
4. Never Stop Learning – Think you know everything about your business and your customers? Think again, as the business world is always changing and you have to change with it if you want to stay competitive. Just look at how much it has changed since the advent of the Internet, which really wasn't that long ago!
5. Have Fun – Don’t treat your customers as sources of money. Instead, have fun with them, in both your marketing strategy and your personal relationships. Some of the fastest growing companies within the last 10 years are considered to be "fun." (Two great examples: Google and Geico.)
6. Act Fast With Complaints – No matter how well you operate a business, there will always be the odd complaint from customers. How you respond can determine whether or not you retain dissatisfied customers. Always respond with both urgency and respect.
7. Keep Your Employees Happy – Happy employees will be more likely to go the extra mile for customers. Therefore, a domino effect happens in your favor. Customer relationship management, or CRM, is a complicated process that extends much further than the list above. However, following these tips will greatly improve your customer relations and, in turn, your bottom line.
By-line:
Heather Johnson is an industry critic, as well as a regular contributor on the subject of airline mile cards. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address:
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