{"id":53738,"date":"2023-10-20T16:24:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/keeping-your-customers-coming-back-for-more-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T16:24:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:24:47","slug":"keeping-your-customers-coming-back-for-more-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/keeping-your-customers-coming-back-for-more-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping your customers coming back for more &#8211; StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"90\" height=\"110\" itemprop=\"image\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/feature-trolley-thumb.jpg\" alt=\"feature-trolley-thumb\" title=\"feature-trolley-thumb\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-19642\" style=\"float: right;\" alt=\"feature-trolley-thumb\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/feature-trolley-thumb.jpg\" height=\"110\" width=\"90\" \/>Wise entrepreneurs put systems in place from the onset to ensure customers come back again and again.<\/p>\n<p>  <span id=\"more-8982\"><\/span> <\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is because they know that studies show it costs substantially more to generate a new customer than maintain an existing one.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Anyone that shops with you regularly is less expensive to manage because they have an understanding of your business process, methods and products, says Philip Owens, principal of performance and leadership firm, Resourced Leaders.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to understand what it costs to serve your customers, acquire new customers and the value return of their custom, Owens says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore you dismiss your current customer base in favour of hunting new clients, it may be worth considering how much you invested in getting them to be customers in the first place,\u201d Owens says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you ask this, you may recognise that unless you get more value from them via additional sales, you\u2019ll end up losing money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sydney\u2019s Catherine DeVrye, who authored <i>Good Service is Good Business<\/i> and <i>50 Shades of Great Customer Service<\/i>, agrees, warning that it can take years to win a customer, but only seconds to lose one.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know it costs five times more to obtain a new customer than retain an existing one, and that a 5% increase in customer loyalty can mean up to an 85% increase in profits,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lure customers back for more by rethinking the way you allocate your marketing budget, suggests Melbourne business coach and author of <i>Sales Seduction<\/i>, Rhondalynn Korolak.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many businesses spend the bulk of their marketing budget chasing new customers or re-engaging customers that have left and gone to the competition,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead, businesses should spend at least 75% of their budget keeping existing customers tuned in. \u201cI recommend spending your time analysing your current customers \u2013 what are they buying, what could you introduce them to that would make them even more profitable to you, and how can you drive frequency?,\u201d Korolak says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Outperform<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Give more than customers expect and they\u2019ll come back and spend with you again, Owens says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you outperform their expectations, they\u2019ll be satisfied. If you underperform, they\u2019ll be frustrated. Often, the simple fact of satisfying the client is enough for them to remain a loyal customer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Always remember that people want to feel included, in control and liked, he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn any attempt to keep a customer, ensure you consider how you, your interaction and the use of your product or service allow them to feel. Making a customer feel insignificant, excluded, incompetent and disliked is the fastest way to push them in to their defensive profile and have them run for the hills.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking someone feel liked costs nothing more than offering what you promise and being considered in your approach,\u201d Owens says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>DeVrye adds that making sure your employees are happy and content plays a big part in enabling you to deliver on your promise.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRemember to reward staff along the way for desired behaviour, and not just give them a boot in the butt when things go wrong. Like finding new customers, it takes a lot longer to go through the process of hiring competent new staff than it does to look after your existing ones,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Regular communication<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Social media is a great way to open the lines of communication and support with existing customers, says Fergal Coleman, social media advisor at Melbourne business advising firm, Symphony3.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven better, encourage your customers to support each other via social media, and you will build even greater loyalty,\u201d Coleman says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s important to know when to follow up on a post with a phone call or email; particularly if a customer is disgruntled, he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Aside from social media, consider keeping in touch with existing customers via mobile marketing. Businesses can use mobile communication to enhance customer support, let customers know when a sale or special offer is on or wish them a happy birthday, according to Shaun Dobbin, chief executive of mobile service provider Gomeeki.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsumers rarely leave home without their mobile device and therefore it proves to be a very reliable way to keep in touch with customers.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt can complement all other forms of your marketing mix, be it a number to text on your ad on the bush shelter, a QR code to scan at the in-store checkout or a coupon sent from your website to their mobile device providing an incentive to visit the store,\u201d Dobbin says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Story continues on page 2. Please click below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wise entrepreneurs put systems in place from the onset to ensure customers come back again and again. \u00a0 This is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,17,23,13,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}