So, let’s assume that you have a business with customers already. You can either spend money keeping the customers that you have or advertising for new customers. Do you know which one is the smarter option?
According to popular opinion as gathered in this article by Ian Kingwill, it costs between 4 and 10 times more to get a new customer than keep an old one. Treating your current customers well is important, and can often determine whether your company survives.
The basics of customer retention are easy:
- Good employees are good business. Finding the right people can be an arduous and complicated process, but once you have the right employees they will be the backbone of your business. Think about the disaster that followed Circuit City’s decision to get rid of all their most highly paid salespeople, and don’t make that mistake. Generally, you’re probably going to be looking for friendly, smart, and dedicated staff who fit your culture. A person who can connect with your clientele and fix a customer’s problem on the spot is worth the money.
- Feedback is important. Go out of your way to get customer feedback (although don’t make the customer go out of their way). You may be able to just talk to your clients or you may send out a thousand online surveys but, either way, ask specific questions. Ask about the specific product or service that the customer was interested in, and ask how the specific employee handled it. Think about establishing a focus group of responsive customers if you want to get feedback on your business experience as a whole.
- Follow up. If customers spend their time providing surveys or feedback, be it in person, in a suggestion box, in person, make sure that you follow up. Take their suggestions seriously and inform them what your final decision is, even if it doesn’t exactly conform to what they wanted. That will let them know that they are important to you and your business, and that you’re thinking about them even when they aren’t right in front of you. It’s especially impressive when a manager calls back after minor contact with another employee, so have a system in place to get word back to you.
- Training is vital. The more training your employees get, the more consistent the experience for your customers. Communication about every facet of your customer experience will help your employees know how to solve problems, and know how to treat a client. Even little things, to smile as a customer approaches or how to answer the phone, can make a difference. An employee should also know what a company is willing to do to keep a client, and be empowered to take that action. Can a broken item be replaced, or can a bartender pour another beer for someone that just dropped theirs? A quick resolution is usually better and cheaper than the alternative.
- Be a model. The boss should be the example for customer service. If you treat your clients well, your employees will follow that example and if you’re rude they’ll get the idea that’s what is appropriate. Sometimes that can be difficult, but putting the effort into it means that your employees will put their effort into it later.
Happy customers will come back and they’ll recommend you to others. That’s effective advertising that you can’t possibly buy. If you build a solid clientele you can also ask them to review or support your company in other ways.
Speaking of that, have you checked out our customer testimonials? I bet they would definitely recommend Tardy & Co., PC if you asked any of them . . . .