How much effort do you spend keeping your existing customers?
It always shocks me how much effort businesses go to to find new customers while completely ignoring the customers they already have.
Recently I visited my local beautician who was offering a free eye brow wax with an any other service, but only for new customers. I had been visiting them for years, I had been a loyal and regular customer and I had bought gift certificates for my sister and a friend to use at this particular beautician.
Now I am all for encouraging new business, it is vital for business growth, but in attracting new business you need to be mindful of how you treat your current customers. Don’t assume they won’t go elsewhere if you offer them no reason to stay with you. Also remember that there is a cost associated with acquiring a new customer!
If you own a hairdressing salon and you know that for every marketing campaign you spend $1000 and you win 10 new customers then your cost to gain a new customers is $100 – if they only visit you once and spend on average $100 then your marketing has essentially been a waste.
You need to ensure that the customer comes back time and time again – the longer they stay with you the higher your ROI or return on investment for your marketing dollar.
So what are you doing right now to nurture the relationship with your current customers? Do you have a marketing plan in place that focuses on retaining the customers that you already have in addition to finding new customers? Don’t forget to join my Profit Lovers before you go. The link is below.
Melanie