You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 Rule? We’ll as in most things this rule also applies to keeping your customers.
You see in most businesses, 80% of sales come from just 20% your customers, if you don’t believe me, just look at your own sales statistics… You do track your sales?
Another thing you’ll find is, that 20% are made up of Loyal customers who not only buy more, but tell others to buy from you! And you SAVE MONEY ta-boot, because it costs five times more to win a new customer than it does to keep an old one.
Now that you know the WHY you want to do this. . . Here’s some of the HOW to do this.
- The best way to keep customers loyal is to provide a good product and great service, on time, that provides good value for their money.
- Be polite and friendly to your customers. Build up a comfortable working relationship over time. The ability to have personal customer relationships is one of the biggest advantages small businesses have in the marketplace.
- Solve any (not just the big ones) complaints quickly and customers will have much more trust in you, leading to increased loyalty. Ignore or fail to solve complaints and loyalty will be lost.
- Communicate with your customers. Don’t “pester them” or make them feel you’re pushing them to make a sale, but wish them Happy Birthday or Mary Christmas, ask them if they are satisfied with your product or service and what more you can do to help them. Genuine interest in their satisfaction will help make customers feel valued and more loyal.
- Get out and visit your customers… Days out can cost you a little in gas and time, but give you a great opportunity to increase loyalty and develop improved personal relationships with your best customers. And it’s a perfect time to do a little detective work, while your there. Look around, be friendly with the staff, look for clues that your competitors might be visiting your customers, this might be a note pad on their desk, a promotional item with their name, a calendar, etc.
- Leave your customer with a little something when you visit… Like the things I just mentioned your competition might be leaving your customers, in the last bullet point above.
- Of course branding alone will not make customers loyal, but back up a good product and great customer service with branding and loyalty will develop much faster.
Keep in mind that all these things above and more can increase loyalty, but they are no substitute for (and will not work without) a good product, great customer service, and friendly customer relationships.
Until next time,
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