{"id":8126,"date":"2014-03-03T06:05:45","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T14:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=8126"},"modified":"2023-07-31T07:16:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T07:16:42","slug":"10-things-you-can-do-to-keep-a-customer-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/10-things-you-can-do-to-keep-a-customer-today\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Things You Can Do to Keep a Customer Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where are you spending more time; getting new customers or growing and expanding your relationship with the customers you already have?\u00a0 If you\u2019re like most companies, you\u2019re probably spending more time and money looking for and wooing new customers than finding new opportunities within the customers you already have.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"iStock_000003087297XSmall\"<\/p>\n

When the economy gets tough, everyone tends to go into survival mode and think that they don\u2019t have enough customers, or that they need new customers to replace the business that they lost. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But the truth is that focusing on the customers you already have is your highest value strategy when times are tough.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re afraid of losing a customer or just want to keep the customers you have loyal, here are some easy, low-cost strategies that will help you keep a customer today.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Calculate your customer net worth.<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The best way to inspire increase sales to existing customers is to see how much these customers have already contributed to your bottom line. The formula is actually simple: Take the total profit of your ideal customer\u00a0 over the lifetime of your relationship.\u00a0 Subtract all the costs associated with acquiring that customer.\u00a0 That\u2019s all there is to it.\u00a0 If you\u2019d like more detail, here\u2019s a wonderful tool that you can use to see how much each of your ideal customers is worth.<\/li>\n
  2. Identify what\u2019s most important to your customers<\/b>.\u00a0 Focus on specific benefits that your customers are looking for such as 24\/7 access to technical support instead of just service.\u00a0 The best way to find out is to literally get on the phone or schedule a meeting with a handful of your best customers and simply ask them \u201cWhat\u2019s important to you when you\u2019re buying what we\u2019re selling?\u201d\u00a0 Then be quiet and let them just talk.\u00a0 Listen for golden nuggets that may not have anything to do with WHAT you provide, but HOW you provide it.\u00a0 That\u2019s where real value lies.<\/li>\n
  3. Review the next customer letter you see and remove all elements of \u00a0\u201ccorporate-speak\u201d from it,<\/b>\u00a0 You can spot fake, empty and inauthentic language (corporate B.S.) from a mile away \u2013 so can your customer.\u00a0 And they don\u2019t like it.\u00a0 Customers are drawn to real people who use plain and simple language.\u00a0 \u00a0Here\u2019s how to test your document\u2019s readability in Microsoft Word 2010: Click the File<\/b> tab, and then click Options<\/b>. Click Proofing<\/b>. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word<\/b>, make sure Check grammar with spelling<\/b> is selected. Select Show readability statistics<\/b>.<\/i><\/li>\n
  4. Get employees involved in building your brand and communicating with customers.<\/b>\u00a0 Some companies shy away from having employees on Facebook while they are working.\u00a0 But creating a social media presence and then actually encouraging employees to connect with customers and communicate with them via Blog, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn is a terrific way to put a personal face and connection to your company.\u00a0 Before you jump into this strategy, be sure to create a social media policy and clearly outline what\u2019s acceptable and not acceptable.\u00a0 Also be sure to create corporate identities for your employees i.e.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/li>\n
  5. Create a \u201cKey Account Plan\u201d for a Critical Customer.<\/b>\u00a0 The most profitable customers are the ones who purchase across your product and service offering.\u00a0 Yet, many of us have customers who purchase one or two products or services \u2013 when they might actually have a need for (but not know about) the other products we have available.\u00a0 A key account plan puts your focus on your customer and all the different ways that you can serve them \u2013 not just with products, but with other value added services.\u00a0 Think of it as a marketing plan for that one target customer.\u00a0 If you\u2019re still in a bind, you can download this strategic account plan template here.<\/i><\/li>\n
  6. Offer an insane guarantee.<\/b>\u00a0 BEFORE your customer starts threatening to go to a competitor, create and offer an insane guarantee.\u00a0 Business owners are often afraid of offering guarantees because they think that they will lose money.\u00a0 But if you\u2019ve done the customer net worth calculation (tip #1) you will see that offering a risk-free guarantee costs NOTHING compared to what that customer has already contributed to your bottom line.<\/i><\/li>\n
  7. Give them the star treatment.<\/b>\u00a0 Identify your key customers and create a \u201cconcierge\u201d team to service their every need.\u00a0 Have a member from key areas such as sales, marketing, service, production or technology serve as the customer concierge team.\u00a0 Give them a broad latitude and freedom to get things done.\u00a0 If this proves successful for you, think about making this an added service that other customer can subscribe to.\u00a0 I know one company that added $2 million straight to their bottom line by using this strategy.<\/i><\/li>\n
  8. Create an advisory board.<\/b>\u00a0 Instead of wondering what new products or services would most interest your customer \u2013 get them involved in the customer development<\/a> process by inviting them to participate on an advisory board.\u00a0 The investment in time and money in creating this engaged customer community<\/a> will pay off in spades.\u00a0 Create events where you educate your customer advisory board on industry trends and then ask them the questions that keep you wondering if there\u2019s actually demand for your idea.\u00a0 You can even keep these virtual with tools like Google Hangouts which are free and give you the ability to connect and share ideas.
    \n<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
  9. Monthly \u201cSurprise Gift\u201d.<\/b> <\/b>\u00a0We\u2019ve all heard of a book of the month club, how about a surprise of the month \u201cgift\u201d for your key customers.\u00a0 I\u2019m not necessarily talking about the kinds of gifts that get you in trouble \u2013 maybe it\u2019s something like \u201cThis month\u2019s order of widget \u201cx\u201d was on us!\u00a0 Enjoy\u201d\u00a0 Again, if you look at your key customer\u2019s net worth to your business, isn\u2019t it better to spend your money on keeping them loyal than throwing your money away on hopes of gaining a new customer?\u00a0 Reciprocity (along with quality and service) is a powerful loyalty tool.<\/i><\/li>\n
  10. LOVE them.<\/b>\u00a0 When you love a hobby or another person you take an interest in what\u2019s happening around them.\u00a0 Do the same with your customers.\u00a0 If you know that your customer contact is a fan of pink flamingoes and you see a postcard or figurine in a gift shop \u2013 pick it up and send it to them.\u00a0 It says that you know who they are and you listen and care.\u00a0 Do at least one nice, selfless thing for a customer because you love them.<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is a short list of 10 ways to keep customers.\u00a0 But YOU\u2019RE somebody\u2019s customer too.\u00a0 Why not take this opportunity to share what you\u2019d want to see from the companies you do business with that would keep you loyal and get you singing their praises.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Where are you spending more time; getting new customers or growing and expanding your relationship with the customers you already […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":8115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 Things You Can Do to Keep a Customer Today | QuestionPro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Where are you spending more time; getting new customers or growing and expanding your relationship with the customers you already have?\u00a0 If you\u2019re like\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/10-things-you-can-do-to-keep-a-customer-today\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Things You Can Do to Keep a Customer Today | QuestionPro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Where are you spending more time; 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