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Loyalty – The Key to Business Success
Robert Warlow
Small Business Success
Talk to many
business people about how they approach customer service and the majority of
them will say that they are aiming to have ‘satisfied’ customers. No! What
we all should be seeking is to have loyal customers.
Research has
shown that 65% of customers say they are loyal. You may be happy with this
but you shouldn’t! Satisfied customers are in a state of nothing – they are
neither dissatisfied or happy; they are in between. They will tolerate you
while you are of use to them but if a better deal comes along, they’re off.
On the other
hand, loyal customers are your friends. They will be with you through thick
and thin; they will be the first to try out you new product; they willing
give you honest feedback; they will regularly refer business to you. This is
what you want! But how can you turn a satisfied customer into a loyal one?
Let Them Decide How to Do Business With You
Today customers
are a lot more sophisticated in how they want to do business. If your
product or service lends itself to be offered via a number of different
means, then give your customer the option.
Can you deliver
face-to-face? What about telephone services? Could you make use of SMS texts
for quick notes and reminders? Do you have a web site through which
customers can contact you or even make orders on-line? If you provide a
variety of delivery channels which are available to suit the customer’s
needs then they are more likely to stay with you.
Build a Relationship
Loyalty can
only be achieved if you have a true relationship with your customer. Aim to
build rapport. Understand who are dealing with and understand what they are
looking for. Keep in regular contact with them; you don’t necessarily have
to be selling something. Always use their names, especially their first name
if you can.
All of this
will help in building a long term relationship. Once you have this, they are
less likely to walk away.
Generate Staff Loyalty
How can you
cultivate a loyal customer if your staff are not loyal to the business? You
must have staff who care for the job and will do anything to protect and
move the business forward. Customers will be more loyal if they see familiar
faces. A business with a high staff turnover will find it difficult to build
a relationship with their customers.
Treat your
staff well. Reward their successes and recognise their achievements. Hold
regular training sessions so they feel that they are learning and
developing. An established training programme will also make sure that their
product knowledge is up to date.
Seek Out Complaints
This sound
strange but the average customer has to be encouraged to complain! Many will
keep quiet about poor service but if they can find someone else to do their
business with, they will. Set up a clear complaints procedure so customers
can complain if they wish. Provide staff with the tools to effectively deal
with customer problems. Follow up all complaints to ensure that they have
been resolved.
Take an Interest
Show your
customers that you are interested in their views. Run regular surveys to
find out what they think of your service, to find out what you can do
differently. You can either carry out a survey over the telephone, or go as
far as doing a mailing to all your customers.
Taking the
trouble to contact your customers will reinforce the message that you want
their custom. But don’t forget – take action on what you find out!
Be a ‘Can Do’
Business
Customers like
nothing better than a business which delivers on even the most difficult of
requests. ‘Can Do’ businesses will always have loyal customers. Train your
staff to never use words like, “Sorry but …”, “It’s not my fault”, “It’s
company policy”.
Be a business
where solutions are always looked for and problems seen as challenges.
Look After The ‘Golden’ Customers
The old 80/20
is likely to apply to your business – 80% of your sales or profits are
likely to come from just 20% of your customers. Work out who your top 20% is
and love them to death! Why not concentrate on turning the remaining 80%
into loyal customers? Well, the 20% have already shown that they trust and
respect you. A little more effort with these customers will reap more
business than concentrating on the ‘maybe’s’. By all means, run a programme
to convert the ‘maybe’s’ but put more effort into the converted.
So, there you
have it. Some ideas and tips on how to build and keep loyal customers. Take
a critical look at your business and put a loyalty building programme in
place, which will boost sales and profits.
© Robert
Warlow
Small Business
Success
www.smallbusinesssuccess.biz
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