Retaining Customers

Sandra J. Paluzzi
The Bead Peddler®

It is ten times easier to make a repeat sale to an existing customer than it is to sell a new customer.  Therefore, we should all treat our customers like the precious resources they are. 

Customer service must be excellent.  Customer expectations must be reasonably set and met.   All delivery dates must be met and the goods should surpass expectations. 

Of course, you will want to thank the customer.  This thank you can take many forms.  An immediate thank you for the order should be given when the order is received.  Then you could tuck  a thank you card or note inside the package.  If you put a note inside the package, be sure to have your company contact info on the note.  Handwritten notes are not only inexpensive, they are also very effective.  There's something very touching about someone taking the time to hand write a note in today's busy world.  It really doesn't matter if your handwriting looks like chicken scratching, it will still be appreciated.

Marketing experts suggest you give customers an incentive to return.  I hold a monthly raffle on my website.  Each month people must come to my website to register for a chance to win.  Some people have frequent buyer clubs where people get  a prize or discount after spending a set amount of money.  The price is typically worth 10% of the dollar amount already spent (a free 10.00 pair of earrings after spending 100 in less than a year).  Other vendors give out coupons offering them money off their next purchase.  People who do  shows frequently hold a show raffle where they collect customers contact info.  These vendors then remind the customers of their upcoming shows.  A hint here is to make the incentive something free.  People are more likely to respond to free offers than they are to discounts.

I think a lot of customer retention has to do with exception handling.  A common exception is a mistake in the order.  Ideally, of course, there would be no mistakes.  In the real world, mistakes are rare.  Still, every effort should be made to rectify the situation to the customer's satisfaction as quickly as possible.  Assume the customer is right.  I am infrequently told an item is missing from an order.  I never argue.  I immediately rectify the situation.  I like to ask the customer what restitution they want.  Some will want a refund for the item, and others will want the item shipped.

Another exception situation is when the customer doesn't like what they ordered.  We have a 100% money back guarantee but the customer has to  pay shipping.  If the customer wants to exchange the item for something else, we do all we can to ship the replacement as cheaply as possible. 

Regardless of how good your customer service and how conscientious your follow up, you will lose some customers.  Marketing experts say you should put effort into wooing these customers back into the fold.  Statistics have shown that you will get 5 times as much business by calling inactive customers than you will by calling on new accounts.  Also, for me, it is less intimidating to call an existing customer than a stranger.  Based on these two facts,  I know where I'm going to spend my phone time.  How about you?

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