It was December 2015 when it hit me that New Zealand businesses really struggle with looking after their existing clients. There was so much focus on bringing on new clients, that no one kept in touch with the existing ones they had. I couldn’t believe the amount of money that was simply slipping out the back door with all of these forgotten clients.
It was obvious that many businesses were fighting a losing battle. Because they were not retaining their existing clients, they constantly had to go back to the market to bring on new ones. It proved to be an expensive way of marketing with a constant advertising cost, as well as a drain on resources and time. I knew I had to show them a better way.
My Experience
I have built my career on customer retention. I’ve found that if you regularly stay in touch with your customers, they will return to you again and again.
I proved this when I worked for a large utility company with 200,000 customers. I managed to move 80% of the customer base onto electronic payment methods like direct debit and automatic payment. Not only did it improve business cash flow, but it was a significant cost saving as customers were no longer paying over the counter at their local branches.
The persistence of using compelling marketing messages through regular newsletters proved itself again in my next role at a finance company. I grew the number of investors from zero to over 10,000 in a 6 year period. That was impressive in itself, but the real achievement was the 93% retention and reinvestment rate of current investors.
Growing The Money In Your Business
There are three ways to increase the revenue in your business:
- Get your customers to spend more with you
- Have your customers buy from you on a more frequent basis
- Obtain new clients through referrals
All three of these methods require trust in your business. Trust is not something that is automatic. It is something you need to build over time with your customers. One of the vital ingredients in building trust is great customer service. Up to 68% of your customers will leave if you show them a lack of appreciation or acknowledgement.
So how can you show customers their value? Apart from simply being courteous and helpful, the next level is excellent communication. You can use the Rule of Seven to do this.
Have you heard of the Rule of Seven? It states that any prospect will need to see your marketing message at least 7 times before they are willing to take action and buy from you. From your point of view it might seem repetitive to constantly contact your customers. But every piece of contact is a chance to impress them. Reinventing your story to be interesting and relevant will give you the material for the ongoing marketing you need to be successful.
Took It To The People
I knew I had a method that worked. Growing tired of the corporate world, I wanted to share it with the people that needed it most – small and medium businesses. So I created my own digital marketing agency.
Regardless of the business size, the principles still remain the same. Business owners are time poor, they are wearing many hats, juggling many jobs and still have clients that need looking after. But now there are a growing number of mediums to cover. Not only is there face to face marketing, but you also need to conquer the inbox and social media. More than ever before, you are competing for the attention of your customer’s eyeballs.
Yes it is a more complex marketplace. But people are still the same. Client still stands for care. So are you caring for your clients and adding value by contributing to their knowledge base? More importantly, have you communicated with all of your clients recently? I know it is easy to get bogged down and real life does tend to get in the way. Regardless, regular customer communication is vital.
I Cannot Do It Alone
After spending years juggling cashflow management, debtors, creditors, managing staff (and letting them go when it doesn’t work out), restructuring my business to be more profitable, seeking out prospects, and dealing with customer queries and complaints, I realised that I had a choice. Either I could continue trying to do everything myself, or I could get some experts to help me out. Sure, I had proven that I could do all of those things myself. But it was taking me far longer to DIY and I wanted to see results. So I chose to take that next step and outsource the things that weren’t my core business.
Instantly I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I didn’t have to worry about those things any more and I could focus on my area of genius. It was a real relief to know I could get on with what I needed to do and the work I outsourced would be handled by experts in their field.
Would you like me to lift the load off your shoulders so you can finally have the time to focus on your genius? Let me nurture your clients so that you can have a steady stream of leads without constantly searching for new ones. After all, what have you got to lose? Book your free 30 minute chat with me now
You can see what some of my happy clients have to say about my services here
If you aren’t ready to chat just yet, you can still access my best tips on creating a steady flow of leads into your business here