Appreciate What You Have

How to build a base of steady customers

Has your business ever acquired a new customer only to look back a while later and wonder where they went? This is a common head-scratcher for small businesses. But the key to building a base of steady customers is to prioritize building long-term customer relationships over finding new customers. Producing repeat buyers can double your sales (or more) without a need to develop or invest in new marketing efforts. Ask yourself these questions to better understand why appreciating your past and current customers could revolutionize your marketing strategy:

• Why focus on existing customers? Did you know that most businesses spend 80% of their marketing budget on pursuing new customers? And that it can cost up to six times more to sell your product to a new customer than to sell the same exact product to a repeat customer. Not only that, but research shows that returning customers will spend an average of 33% more and are more than twice as likely to refer your product to a friend.
• Why aren't your clients repeat-buying? In a majority of cases, customers don't become repeat buyers for one of two reasons: either they took a competitor's offer, or they felt like your company didn't care about them. Many companies make the mistake of thinking that a customer will stick with them after the first purchase, but this is a false assumption.
• What can you do about it? Nurturing your relationships with customers is key to turning them into repeat visitors. Your customers can, and will, detect any indifference or dishonesty in any facet of your company, so keep your dialogue as open as possible. And remember, every transaction matters. Pay attention to the customer service experience your business provides. For example, if you own a musical instrument shop, make sure your sales employees are knowledgeable and helpful. Consider offer free tuning for a year after purchase. If you think about your customer relationship strategy in the long term, you can convince your customers to think long term as well.