The best customer, as we all know, is the one you already have. Regular patrons know you and your business. These are the individuals who are engaging regularly and building relationships with your colleagues and offerings. Hopefully, these regular customers have great things to say about the products and services you offer and naturally generate referral business. Such organic growth will save you money in the long run. Just think: Each organic referral reduces the marketing budget you need to allocate toward finding new customers.
So in the spirit of a New Year, here's a look at what you can do to help your existing customers continue to feel good about their positive relationships with you and your business.
Implement a CRM
Do you enjoy that homey feeling when your favourite waiter remembers your preferences? Or that your accountant remembers that you changed your address recently? Perhaps it's a shopkeeper who emails you just when it's time to reorder a favourite product.
These things don't always happen by accident. Many times these efforts are possible because of a customer relationship management system to track a customer's details and preferences. CRM software tools are intuitive, can integrate with your point-of-sale tools and help you retain customer information such as:
- Purchase habits.
- Customer feedback.
- Where your clients are in the marketing pipeline.
- Who is most (or least) likely to respond to particular offers or special insider promotions.
Solicit and listen to feedback
It's never fun to listen to complaints. But if you can solicit and stomach some honest customer feedback — via a free survey, via comment cards, via emails or even on review websites — it can give you priceless guidance. It'll also give your patrons a sense of community and the sense of feeling heard — if you respond with action, of course.
Staff training
Perhaps you as a longtime business owner understand the grace, gratitude and politeness it takes to cultivate lasting customer relationships. But do your staff fully understand your approach and how to replicate it?
If you aren't fully sure, it's worthwhile to dedicate some time to training your staff in key areas like how you want each customer to be greeted, how you'd like to approach upselling and how to thank each patron of your business.
Whatever services or goods you provide, working to retain customers in 2022 will serve your bottom line while strengthening the spirit of community you've cultivated. For more information and tips about strategically planning to succeed in the year ahead, please contact our team. We're always happy to help you plan.