Depending on what industry you’re in, the rule of thumb is that it takes anywhere from 5-9 times more effort to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. So why don’t we spend more time nurturing the ones we have?
We’re all guilty of taking customers for granted sometimes. I read an article on marketingprofs.com, The 7 Ps of Customer Retention that I thought was appropriate. Here are some highlights:
- People – It’s about building relationships. Treat your customer as a person.
- Product – Make sure your product is up to what you promised it would be.
- Place – How does a customer communicate with you? Make it easy.
- Price – You need to take care and give them a good price. They expect you to take care of them.
- Promotions – Since they are already your customers, you know what they are buying and can make suggestions for other potential products/services they may be interested in.
- Processes – Customer surveys, social media monitoring and customer engagement tools to understand how each customer is engaging with you.
- Positioning – Know who you are and clearly communicate that to your customers. Keep the message simple and to the point.
Those are some suggestions on how to keep your current customers happy.
