New customer acquisition is usually the most expensive component of a business’s relationship with its clientele. Broadly, it includes everything from the salaries paid to marketers and salespeople to the advertising. Consequently, acquisition is far costlier than retention, as the Harvard Business Review reports: “Depending on which study you believe, and what industry you’re in, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.” To really hammer this idea home, consider this: “research done by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company (the inventor of the net promoter score) […] shows increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.”
A Marriage
Shep Hyken frames the business-customer relationship as being a bit like a marriage. Everything leading up to the making the sale is like a courtship: “Once the customer decides to buy, it’s like you proposed to them, and they said, ‘Yes.’ And when the sale is finally made, it’s like getting married.” Even though many salespeople think of this as closing the deal, Hyken continues, “that is far from the end. It’s actually the beginning.” And keeping them your customers rather than allowing them to churn is crucial to your business’s ongoing success. To keep the marriage metaphor going, the actions you take towards retention are just like avoiding divorce.
Commitment
So, have you considered what steps your business takes to keep your clientele loyal? Are your salespeople thoughtful enough to guide customers to the right products to maximize their long-term satisfaction? Do you have follow-up procedures to verify? In short, is your customer experience comprehensive and efficient?
Maybe you’re sure the answer to the above questions is yes. But maybe you’re also looking at your profit-and-losses reports, and you’re sure your business could be doing better. That’s what we at The Brandt Group specialize in; for more than thirty years, we’ve dedicated ourselves to helping our clients develop efficient and productive sales and customer service processes, training their leadership for future success, and verifying customer and employee satisfaction with tools like mystery shopping and employee feedback surveys. This is how we help our clients maximize their customer experience while enhancing their profits.
Putting in the Work
Are you ready to go beyond simply trying to lure new customers to your business? Do you want to go the extra mile and ensure their long-term loyalty, to earn their repeat patronage and their referrals? Let’s have a chat, and together we can make this a reality!
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