91. Cultivate Contented Customers

Merely meeting your customers’ needs is not going to earn their loyalty. Customers also have expectations. They are going to measure your company, not by how well you meet their needs, but by how well you exceed their expectations. You must continually look for innovative and creative ways to improve in order to build a customer link for life. To achieve this, you must continue to maintain a high level of efficiency and effectiveness. Customers will not stay loyal if you sacrifice efficiency and effectiveness for the sake of being creative and innovative. Strike a balance between the two, and you will find the secret of cultivating customers who remain contented and loyal.

Performance Prompts

• Building loyal relationships with customers is your key to business success.

• The only sure way to keep customers is to provide the best customer service every day.

• Tell your customers you appreciate them. Better yet, show them.

• Start thinking like your customers. Who are they? Why do they come to you? How do your products and services help them? What can you do to improve?

• Customers define what it takes to make them happy. Ask your customers to define this for you.

• Make it easy for your customers to do business with you. Review all policies and procedures. Ask your customers what you can do to improve.

• Treat customers the way you expect everyone in your organization to treat them.

• Building your customer base is important, but your existing customers should always be your number one focus. It costs a lot more to develop new customers than it does to keep existing ones.

• Customers can be your best marketing tools. Make sure what they are saying about you is helping your business.

When This Happens ...

Recently your company began a campaign to increase your customer base. You are offering rebates, discounts, and incentives for first-time customers. This is great, and you are gaining new customers.

Try This

These are all great marketing tools to bring in new business. Now it is important that you do something special for your existing customers, so they know they are also important to you. Schedule a customer appreciation day or week. Provide food, hold a special drawing for them, or give something to each of them when they come in or call. If this will not work for your business, find a way to show and tell your customers that you value their continued business. Your number one goal should always be to keep your existing customers contented and happy.

Find new ways to keep your customers WOWed.