How To Bond With Customers So That They Stay With You Longer

How many of your customers are loyal customers? More importantly do you know why they are loyal customers?

Customer loyalty has been a buzz term in marketing for some time and with good reason. Estimates suggest it can cost 5 times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one.

Think about your business as having a bucket of customers. The customers you lose leak out a hole in the bottom of the bucket. Understanding how big the hole is for your business is the crucial first step to improving your customer loyalty. The second step is understanding why some customers stay and why others leave. Here's a simple way to measure the size of the hole in your bucket.

Take the number of customers who bought from you last year. Then take the number that bought from you this year. The difference between the two figures is your net gain/loss of customers. So if last year the number was 5,000 and this year it's 4,600 your net loss is 400 customers. If you know the value of a customer each year then you can work out what the lost revenue is. Coming back to the customer bucket the hole is big enough to leak 400 customers a year. So why are they leaving?

Common reasons customers leave include:

- bad service
- perceived indifference
- better offer elsewhere
- no longer need your product or service

Some reasons you can do something about, some you can't. When you know a customer is leaving or they haven't bought from you for a while see if you can find out why by asking them. Try an open ended question like 'thanks for being our customer, so we can continue to improve our service can I ask why you are leaving'. Not everyone will respond and that's OK. But those that do may give you valuable insights into things you can improve about your business. Take action on what you find.

You should also be asking your loyal customers why they stay with you. You might be surprised by the answers you get. Often people stay for simple reasons. I get coffee from some places because the staff are friendly even though there is better coffee elsewhere. The friendly service makes the coffee taste better than it actually is. Have you had an experience like this?

So make it your mission to find out why customers stay with you or leave you. When you see patterns that make people stay keep doing it. when you see common reasons people leave fix them. Good luck.

Online Marketing Services

Get a customized and guaranteed online marketing strategy for your business. Your first consultation is 100% free but I can only do a few of these each month so claim yours now!

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


The M-Word (Marketing) Phase 2

Last month we looked at what you need to do... Read More

Are You Losing Business?

As a small business owner, you are grateful for all... Read More

Marketing Is A Long-Term Investment

"Dig your well before you're thirsty" is the title of... Read More

Marketing Tips: Free First

When people think about promoting their business, the first thought... Read More

Referrals - How to Get Them

Referrals are an extension of Networking. If people like you... Read More

Test Marketing--How to Increase Your Direct Mail Marketing Response by Using the Internet to Test

I've discovered a really fantastic way to discover what works... Read More

5 Print Ad Essentials!

Writing an effective print ad, particularly a classified advertisement, requires... Read More

5 Ways to Give Your Web Site a Big-Company Look and Feel

We all DO judge a book by its cover, and... Read More

Natural Marketing for Full Business Success

Is your mind muddy on marketing? Do you wake up... Read More

Sum of Its Parts

I just spent a week at the beach with my... Read More

An Example of Understanding Consumer Thinking

A church in my community provided me with one of... Read More

Online Magazine Subscription Services Make Shopping Online Fun For Magazines

If recreating the old experience of subscribing to magazines by... Read More

Top Five Tips for Marketing that Gets Results

When marketing your practice, as well as designing your brochure,... Read More

Dramatically Improve Your Marketing Results With These 6 Simple Steps

What if there were things you could start doing now... Read More

The Secret to Good Writing

Skilful business writing involves getting your message across simply and... Read More

Promotional Products

As a promotions director for a lot of super markets,... Read More

Trade Show Display Booth ? A Marvelous Contact System

Trade show booths are one of the best direct contact... Read More

CD ROM Business Cards - Offline Marketing For Online Promotion

It's a great concept, - and it has a 'cool... Read More

Differentiate or Die

Sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you... Read More

The Sweet Aroma of Highly Effective Marketing

Highly effective marketing is accomplished when your marketing materials and... Read More

Forget Conventional Marketing - Embrace the Web!

Tactical marketing processes are once again undergoing fundamental shifts from... Read More

Planning Your Postcard Marketing Campaign

Before you create your postcard, do a little planning. Ask... Read More

Does Your Marketing Pass This 10-Point Test?

Good marketing, whatever form it takes, always meets certain criteria.... Read More

Why Target the Matures

The "Matures" are the generations that came along between 1909... Read More

Target Your Market

Your market is not everybody, as so many small businesses... Read More

Marketing Mimics Life

Clichés. We've all heard them...and hear some of them so... Read More

Business to Business Direct Mail Offers that Say Free

In direct mail, the offer is the incentive or reward... Read More

How to Connect Features and Values

"Buy this magazine or we'll shoot the dog," went a... Read More

Future of Marketing Part 2

In Part 1, I discussed how traditional marketing is no... Read More

Notable News - Its Not About You!

You enjoy what you do. In fact, you love your... Read More

Promotions That Build Profit

Promotions are everything you do to let your customers know... Read More

Meaning and Marketing -- The Links

You know who you are and what you want and... Read More

Dont Let Your Business Cards End Up in the Trash

Business cards are such wonderfully creative little marketing products. Most... Read More