A newer version of your 7-month-old tablet or iPad is coming out in a week and you have to have it. You go to the store, find your new toy, and eventually the older version is collecting dust on a shelf.
– Do not “shelve” your existing customers –
Novelty is exciting but it is worthless to any product or service if it is not perceived as valuable. Shifting your focus from lead generation to creating lifelong customers will help: win new business, keep existing clients, & grow lifelong relationships. It is true, new lead generation and customer acquisition are essential to growth, especially when done methodically. Remember, “new” only matters if it adds value. Collecting data and feedback from existing customers aids in establishing best-fit criteria and provides other valuable insights. These insights can be used to design effective marketing strategies that target more qualified sale leads. This shift in focus not only helps your business create lifelong customers but also, saves money, and generates more revenue.
“The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 – 70%. The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%.” [Marketing Metrics]
“It costs 6–7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one.” [Bain & Company]
“A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%.” [Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy]
Your existing customers are your most valuable assets, so take care of them. Fostering a strong relationship with them can be accomplished by being proactive and acting on customer feedback. Raise customer satisfaction and avoid “shelving” your customers by following these four simple steps:
- Establish a reliable way to collect data on existing customers along with their feedback.
- Use the insights found in step one to generate best-fit criteria.
- Use best-fit criteria to design effective marketing, sales, and overall business strategies that are customer-centric. Incorporate insights in improving existing products and/or services.
- Create lifelong customers by nurturing them pre and post sale.
Your customers are not products that can be discarded for their newer, shinier, versions and neither is your business. Focusing on your existing customers and incorporating their feedback into future strategies based on their experience, will increase your number of lifelong customers. This will also keep your brand from becoming anything less than the “latest version.”