Leveraging Your Relationship with Exisiting Clients

By: endofpanics12 | Posted: 11th May 2009

Encouraging repeat sales from existing customers is a key aim for any business.
Finding new customers is an expensive and often lengthy process, so for some
companies, repeat sales from existing customers will be the biggest revenuegenerating
source of income and profits. Establishing a long-term relationship with
customers is as important, if not more important, than getting sales from new
customers. For example, in the automobile business, solid after-sales service is critical
to keep a favorable relationship with customers until they are ready to purchase
another vehicle. Even if they don't return for a long time, they will be talking to
others about their experience with you. Word of mouth is still the most important
source of reliable information regarding your products and services.
It is important that you do everything you can to keep customers satisfied and loyal to
your business for as long as possible. Existing customers have already proven their
willingness to do business with you. Finding new customers requires marketing and
advertising costs that can be very expensive. Providing customers with a good
experience is even more important when your business requires frequent customer
visits. For example, in the grocery business, there is daily contact with some
customers. If the individual has a choice of stores, it is vital that you ensure the
experience at your store is the most attractive. Customer loyalty is so important that
some companies offer clubs, discounts, and other incentives to retain customers.
What You Need to Know
Do I really need to attend to existing customers? Surely they're happy already?
Your business will only thrive by attracting customers. It is important to understand
why your customers chose you. Was it your price? Your products? Because of a
special offer? Once you know why you've attracted these customers, you'll have a
unique opportunity to persuade them to buy from you again and again. But if they had
a bad experience, competitors will find them easy to take from you.
How can great customer service give me a competitive edge?
Even if you are lucky enough to be the first into a new market it won't be long before
someone else follows suit. Think carefully about what you can do to make sure
customers stay loyal to you as long as they are in the market for your service. Can you
create a unique selling proposition that will lock them into your business rather than
the competition's? You have met a customer need once. Odds are that you can do it
again but not if you take customers for granted or fail to demonstrate that they were
right to choose your company to do business with in the first place. The vast majority
of businesses concentrate on achieving a profit from each sale at the lowest
transaction cost. Because of this thinking they do not necessarily ensure a favorable
customer experience. Remember, a small expense in the short term to satisfy
customers, will save a big expense later to win them back. Attention to customer
satisfaction in the short term ensures profits in the long term.
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Tags: word of mouth, marketing, long time, aim, profits, advertising costs, bad experience, incentives, long term relationship, customer loyalty, existing customers, special offer, good experience, willingness, repeat sales