Many businesses focus solely on attracting new customers, but you NEED to spend a good chunk of your time educating current and former customers. They already know you and they’ve already bought from you, so they can be excellent future customers as well.
Take the time to market and sell new products to your old customers and less time trying to sell old products to new customers. That will produce a drastic change in your sales, customer quality, and branding position as a result.
Here are some key elements you can use to retain your current customers.
1. Staying in contact
It is important to communicate with your current customers, whether by phone, email, e-newsletter, in person–or by carrier pigeon, if you have to!
2. Post-purchase assurance
Follow up with your customers. Your customers need to feel like they are being supported for their purchase and with the item they purchased. How many times have you purchased a product, then felt completely abandoned? Something as simple as a thank-you note with your contact (or customer service) information can go along way in retaining a great customer.
3. Deals and guarantees
Always offer your current customers the best deals and guarantees you have. You can welcome them into a club specifically designed to reward loyal customers, or you can honor them with a preferred pricing option. Whatever you do, show them you appreciate their business.
4. Good business practices
Using good business practices goes along way with customers. The safer and more confident you make your customers feel, the more they will trust you. Simply upholding integrity, dignity, and honesty makes for an amazingly supportive and loyal customer.
Key Takeaway
Stop wasting all your time on new prospects while your current customers fall by the wayside.
As Jay Abraham says, “Your best prospects are your existing customers. If you’ve been putting all your marketing efforts into acquiring new customers, stop and divert some of your resources into reselling, upselling, cross-selling to those same customers. In every way possible – through package inserts, regular mailings, special offers – stay in touch with those customers and get them used to buying from you.”
Educate your customers by offering them real information and insight and you will be rewarded with loyalty and success.
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Remember, our FREE test drive can help you put together the resources and tools to help you educate your customers.