There is a fine line between allowing customers to wander off without a fight
, and hounding them to the point where they will do anything to escape the constant persecution. The truth of the matter is that every enterprise relies on return business. It is far easier to sell to a customer who has already purchased a product than it is to start from scratch with a skeptical new prospect.
The importance of a customer retention strategy cannot be over-emphasized. This is the difference between a sale and a steady stream of revenue. Think about the possibilities of marketing to someone whose preferences and buying habits are already known in detail. Sell a known quantity rather than hit on a thousand random people and rely on statistical probability to bring a sale onto the ledger. Customer retention is all about turning a buyer into a business associate.
Many realtors are known to "farm" previous clients by providing inexpensive little reminders such as Christmas cards, new calendars, or an occasional post card. This is an excellent example of a customer retention strategy. On the face of it, these reminders show that the customer is valued as a friend as opposed to being just a walking dollar sign. Yet they also keep the realtor's name in the forefront of the customer's memory when the time comes for another real estate transaction.
An expansion of this strategy is found in cases where realtors do the same for entire neighborhoods. This might be thought of as a preemptive customer retention strategy. Once any of these people decide to sell, they feel at least a twinge of obligation to consider that nice lady who keeps sending cards. Provided of course that it has not progressed to the point that it raises a degree of irritation at the continuous and transparent dunning, these little tricks can pay off handsomely.
Everyone likes attention. Providing customers with a glossy new catalog full of alluring new products or dropping them an occasional forget-me-not card keeps a business in touch with the people who made it successful in the first place. However, this is a strategy that needs to take the customer's needs into consideration as well. Their time is valuable. Taking up too much of it with a non-stop advertising blitzkrieg on products they have no interest in sacrifices all of that built-up goodwill. Stay in contact but stay relevant to the customer.