Do You Ignore Your Customers?
Think about the last time you received a thank you note from someone. It felt pretty good didn’t it? It feels good to be remembered and acknowledged. Your customers want to enjoy that same good feeling from you.
The simple act of thanking your customers is, perhaps, the single most powerful and memorable marketing method available to you. Yet, if you are like most companies, you are too busy to personally recognize your customers. These are the people who make your growth and prosperity possible.
A recent survey asked, “Why do customers quit?”
- 3% move away
- 5% develop other friendships
- 9% leave for competitive reasons
- 14% are dissatisfied with the product
- 68% quit because they feel ignored
Over two-thirds leave when a simple “Thank you” or “How are you doing?” would have saved the relationship. You have invested too much to let your best customers go unacknowledged. When you let them know that you truly appreciate their trust and confidence in you, you increase the lifetime value of your relationship.
Consistent personal contact is the best defense against losing customers due to neglect. Try this exercise, divide your customers up into A’s, B’s, and C’s. The C list is made up of customers who will probably not buy from you no matter what you do. Let them go. The A list are your best customers. They typically make up about 20% of your list but provide 80% of your revenue. These are the ones you want to keep. The B list are ones that have potential to move up to the A list. You do not want to forget them.
Contact the A list monthly and at least quarterly you need to have a face-to-face meeting with them. The B list should be contacted at least every other month until they move up to the A list. Methods of contact include e-mails, phone calls, newsletters, cards, promotional items, and personal meetings to name a few. The purpose should be to touch base and not to sell them something.
Once you have established a loyal base of customers, you can begin to ask them for referrals. Your customers will appreciate your personal touch, feel comfortable referring others to you, and purchase from you time and time again . . . paving that road to growth and prosperity.
Julia Hoyle has more than 18 years experience in non-profit administration and consulting with businesses to make them more productive and profitable. She has nurtured an entrepreneurial spirit for almost as many years. And after years of researching business ideas, she formed Your Connection in early 2009 capitalizing on her background of helping businesses thrive.
