It’s easier to keep a customer than to gain a new one. But in our business, we often have clients that lose sight of this and focus all their efforts on new customer acquisition.
For instance…
Last summer we ran a short social media campaign for a small, local company that led to 255 new customers. That might seem like a huge success, but they were unprepared for the uptick in their business. They became overwhelmed, having to close their doors early some days due to lack of supplies and deploying poorly-trained staff to keep up.
Sometimes there is too much of a good thing.
So how can you prevent problems like this from occurring while building a successful and viable business?
Marketing isn’t just about getting new customers. It’s also about keeping existing ones. Landing a new client is said to be five times the cost of retaining an existing client. In other words, prospecting and business development is much harder (and more expensive!) than generating repeat business.
3 Ways to Keep Your Best Clients
1. Build Relationships
Want to build solid relationships with your clients? Call them. Send regular emails. Stop by for quick visits. Write an occasional thank you note.
Business is about relationships and great relationships aren’t founded on poor communication.
Relationships need great communication to flourish.
2. Solve their challenges
Identify and solve their challenges, don’t just fulfill requests. Don’t sell – solve. Sounds simple, right? But it really isn’t.
Dig in and and work together with your client to become part of their team. Create great work that makes them look like a hero, and in turn, they are less likely to look at other solutions.
3. Say Thank You
Complacency is the enemy of any long-term relationships. Treat relationships with your customers like a marriage – don’t take them for granted. Don’t let it get stale.
If your customers feel your excitement for their brand, there’s a much less chance of them having a wandering eye.
Unfortunately, many business owners focus too much on the before and not enough on the after when it comes to their customers.
If you want to keep your business solid, your current customers are your biggest asset. Those that continually return help your business remain stable and give you the latitude to experiment and grow, so you absolutely have to focus on retention.
