BY Rachel Cagle
By now, you should know that the most profitable customers are repeat clients. Customers you’ve already worked with in the past who have been satisfied by your customer service are way more likely to buy from you again than someone new. And yet, according to an article by Liz Heiman, a sales leadership coach, not even 18% of businesses are making client retention a priority. According to Heiman, there are four fundamentals to client retention.
Love Them
This should be obvious, right? But, apparently, 82% of businesses don’t think so. That makes it even easier for you to stand out to your customers by just making them feel like a priority. Check up on them regularly to see how things are working out and what can be improved. Send them cards or small gifts on holidays or their birthdays. If you connected with them during the sale on something personal, center some of your outreach on that to develop a sense of friendship. For example, if you both love cats, you could send them a funny cat meme you saw on social media. If you let your clients know that you care about their business, why would they leave?
Sell Them
“We just got this new product and I think it would be the perfect solution to this problem you mentioned.” Once you get to know an existing client, you know exactly what products or services they’ll be interested in. To retain a client, you should keep selling relevant products and services to them. Then, you also have the chance to upsell add-ons to your primary product or service. Since you already have their trust, they’ll be more likely to consider your offer.
Develop Them
What’s the easiest way to get new clients? When they come to you. If you take the time to make your current clients feel important and become fans of your business, they become instant referral sources. They’re more likely to leave positive reviews of you online and spread word-of-mouth praise about your service, both unprompted and when asked.
What’s the last fundamental? Discover that, plus more customer retention tactics in Heiman’s article. “Since it is more expensive to get a client than to keep a client, keeping your clients just makes sense.”