Small Business Growth -- Keep Your Customers

When your business is in growth mode never underestimate the need to retain, satisfy and educate your existing customers.

Most businesses put too much time, effort and energy -- and money -- into chasing new customers, new prospects, and far too little attention to keeping those they already have. However, we all know that you can’t fill up a bucket if you don’t first plug up the leaks.

Predictable profits and stable revenue streams come from long-term relationships and repeat business with your existing loyal customer base. Some experts declare that, if served and cultivated properly, a whopping 80% of a company’s future growth will come from existing clients. As such, customer satisfaction and retention should be your #1 marketing priority.

Again, the purpose of a business is to attract and retain customers. You cannot remain in business and grow without keeping the customers you have. So how do you do it?

First, you must measure your current attrition rate (loss of customers) and set a goal for dramatically reducing this rate. For example, let’s say, on average, that you lose 20% of your customers every year. A realistic goal would be to reduce this attrition rate to 10% per year. Find out why customers have left or are leaving. Implement a special something exclusively for existing customers (eg: Pre-Sale Party Tuesday the 5th. free hors d'oevres & refreshments exclusively for Platinum Customers only. Get your pick of the best stuff before the sale to everyone else begins on the 6th). Reward loyalty with incentives for products or services from your own business (coffee shop stamps; get 10 stamps and Free jumbo coffee next time)or even a completely different business (the dry cleaner who gives out coupons for one free topping at the pizza place located in the same strip plaza). Bottom line, it is easier and nearly eight times cheaper to serve and retain current clients/customers than to pursue new ones.

Second, once you have plugged the holes in your attrition bucket, you want to get closer to these profitable and worthy customers and discover ways that you can serve them better. You need to more deeply understand their total needs/wants and find ways to fulfill as many of them as possible with additional products and services. What problems are they experiencing, what frustrations, what is causing them inconvenience, time, or bother?

Third, continually communicate. Communicate with them in person, in letters, in faxes, in emails, via your website, newsletters, surveys, etc. Focus on them and their needs/wants, not on you and your products/services. Don’t worry, if you are genuinley focused on the customer you can’t over-communicate. Keep them informed, involved, and inspired to continue doing business with you. Give them solutions. Give them value. Give them a solid sense of how much they mean to you.

• “How are we doing?”
• “What other needs do you have?”
• “How could we improve our value?”

Your objective is to provide them with more value, more enthusiastically and more frequently. As a result, you will benefit with more business and more profits.

Never sell a customer only once. Real profits come from repeat business. As such, set goals to increase the frequency and size of repeat business. You want to do all you can to develop solid ongoing relationships with existing customers. They've already trusted you enough to have transacted business once and it is your responsibility to keep them trusting you into the future.

Reduce attrition, discover additional needs/wants, and communicate, communicate, communicate.

Grow your business -- Keep your customers. You can do it!





The Growth Coach is located in Newmarket, Ontario. We service Toronto, York Region, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Markham and Barrie.