Keeping Your Existing Customers Increases Profit

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Every company wants to attract new clients, but in the process often loses sight on the value of keeping existing ones. Since it usually only takes around 20% of the marketing budget to keep an existing client rather than trying to gain a new one, it’s amazing that more and more companies continue to neglect them as yesterday’s news. To attract new customers, you need to send out advertisements that appeal to their emotions and needs, make cold calls to unsuspecting target clients while they’re in the middle of dinner or sending out post cards to a large geographic area. All of these cost time and money, and the same money you’ve already spent on your current customers. Since they have previously already expressed an interest by ordering from a company, advertising, cold calling and direct mail are three costly advertising avenues that you don’t have to pursue to keep them. The only cost is effort.

Nothing makes a people feel more welcome and important than when companies take the time to remember their names. It’s not always the easiest thing to do, but when a company remembers their names, it’ll give them a sense that they matter to the success of a company. In addition to remembering a client’s name, company representatives should always say “Thank you.” These clients are spending their hard earned money on a company’s product or service and it should be conveyed that it’s appreciated. A good way to help ensure that the message of appreciation is conveyed is by hiring a friendly customer service staff. A good customer service representative will speak to customers with a smile, even over the phone, and generally ask for customer’s input in general conversation when learning more about their needs as a client.

Another way to keep customers happy is to stay in touch with them. Doing this will allow a company to asses what the customer currently needs and also keep the company’s name in their minds when they need to order a specific product or service again. During these sessions companies can also calculate the long-term value of the customer. If it’s determined that a client is going to buy a product or service often, companies can ask them to submit a testimonial and also offer the option of giving them special attention from the owner or president of the company. VIP treatment like this will make customers feel more valued by a company and ensure future business. This is especially important when a problem or complaint occurs. Not every business transaction goes smoothly, but how the situation is resolved will make a lasting impression.

When an existing customer makes another order or requests additional service it’s always a good idea to give them more than what is promised in the order. If it’s a product, pick up the shipping charge or add a little more of the product at no charge. If it’s a service, charge them a little less than what was estimated. In this way, companies can reward customer loyalty. A big mistake a lot of companies make is trying to bleed the wallets of their new and existing customers. What they should be doing is adding in a little bit more for free. Several small orders from a happy customer are a lot better than a large order from a dissatisfied one. Even with new customers, companies should try to educate them on the product or services they provide. This will help show customers how the product or service is beneficial to them and not just how it works.

Keeping customers happy and letting them know they are important to the success of a company will build a business faster than anything. To make sure this happens, companies need to hire a friendly customer support staff and make it a point to find out what the customer needs and to educate them on how a product or service is going to benefit them. Spending hundreds, to thousands, to millions of dollars on an advertising campaign to bring in new business will never produce the kind of revenue that repeat and happy customers can generate. It doesn’t take a huge budget, but it will take effort and the foresight to understand the long-term value of bringing existing customers back.