If you learn to value your customer, then you can expect a LIFETIME of value from your customer. You must establish a long-term view of their value before you can appreciate how important it is to develop a relationship with customers and to ensure that everything is done to keep them for as long as possible.
You can create a loyal customer base by encouraging them to be part of your Fan Club. In most companies nine out of ten first sales are made at a loss due to advertising costs, marketing costs, and commissions. To make the customer profitable to you that customer must come back and buy again. Your goal is to move each customer along the path until they become an enthusiastic fan. Below are the steps along the path for a customer to become a loyal buyer.
When a customer starts out on the bottom rung they are called a lead. These are people that are willing to buy from you in your geographical area.
Prospects are people that have actually phoned in or visited your business. It is important to gather all of their information in order to stay in touch. Your aim is to build a database of prospects to use your sales skills on to move them up a rung to customer.
A prospect only becomes a customer when they have spent money, and you have recorded the sale. Don’t sit back and just wait for these customers to return, instead be proactive and invite them back. At this level you have not made money you have only invested in the one time buy of the customer.
Customers get the feeling of belonging when they make their second purchase and they are 10 times more likely to buy again than first time buyers. Give the patron a membership card, product catalog, samples, vouchers, and etc. to insure their next purchase. On the second sale to the customer is when you first make a profit.
Since the member feels like they belong, they will become a VIP who sells you to other people. VIP’s give referrals, promote you, and they keep buying.
Do everything to help make your customer become an enthusiastic fan. Fans are so excited for you that they can’t stop selling for you and they want to see you succeed.
