Keeping Customers for Life - Why You Need to Keep Customers
Businesses are always concerned about getting new customers and they should be
. The problem that I see in my daily interactions with companies is that they focus too much on getting new customers and not nearly enough on keeping the customers they currently have. The cost of acquiring a new customer is three to five times higher than keeping a current one, so the focus should first be on keeping current customers and then move towards how to get more of them. Every company has a gap in their level of customer service and some companies have canyons.
The first step for any business is to take a long hard look at every aspect of the business and see if it needs to be improved - and if so, how. How are the phones answered? How are people greeted when they arrive? What do they see when they enter your location? How do they move through the process of purchasing with you? What happens if they don't purchase? What happens after they purchase? Can your customer explain all of the benefits of doing business with you? (Here is a hint: They will only be able to do this if YOU have done with them.)
The next step once you have answered these questions is to decide how to change the things that need to be changed. The trouble spot here is you don't want to change things over and over. Try to find the best resolution and make the change once. People are resistant to change even if it is good for them, so find the balance between sticking with things because, "That is the way we have always done it," and changing rules on the fly each month based on your last interaction with a customer.
Imagine a man trying to catch fish with a net full of holes. He is likely to go hungry. The same idea applies to business it does no good for a company to fill their business with interested prospects if they are simply going to fall through the cracks or walk out the back door. If a business takes the time to fix their systems within the company, they will see their Lifetime Value of a Customer increase and THAT money can be used to acquire new customers.
Keeping Customers for Life - Why You Need to Keep Customers