Don't Wait Until It's Too Late To Thank Your Customers
I've been in business for a long time...
Way over 20 years in fact, of working hard to drive massive value to my customers and clients. Part of my mission to provide that value is to always look for ways to improve my products through personal development. I feel like if I'm getting better, a by product of that growth will trickle down to what I'm offering for sale. The better I'm doing professionally, the better my company will do...
One of the ways I do that is through constant learning! Reading books, training manuals, continuing education...And something I've heard repeated over the years is that it's easier to 'sell' to a customer you've already sold to, rather than trying to attract new customers. It makes sense, if someone has put trust into my business and purchased a product (and they are happy with what they purchased) it's easier to 'sell' something to them agin.
And to create that customer loyalty, what I have done over the years is to reward repeat purchases with heavy discounts. Heck, we've even had a loyalty card where customers could accumulate points with their purchases and exchange it for products / gifts. The idea is always...Let my customers know, I appreciate them, every chance I get.
So I had to laugh when I saw this come into my post office box this week...
A little back story to explain why this piece of mail is hilarious to me.
So I've been a customer of Sirius XM radio for over 15 years now. Generally, every month for all those years I've paid my membership fees and enjoyed their service. I'm a fan of satellite radio and have been a 'loyal' customer for years.
A few months ago, they decided to increase my membership fees without warning and when I saw the big jump in monthly costs I immediately gave them a call.
You'd think, after 15 plus years of being a paying customer, they'd do everything in their power to keep me as a client. But to no avail. They said the best we can do is this, and gave me an awful deal that didn't come close to what I had been paying. Safe to say, I cancelled my subscription.
So of course....A few months after no longer getting my fees, they send out this 'please come back offer' which is much lower than I was paying before. And I just had to laugh....
They knew this offer would be sent at a later date, so why not just offer it to me before I ended my subscription in the first place? This makes no sense to me at all, but once again highlighted to me how important it is...To remind your CURRENT paying subscribers, how valuable they are!
To me, this is silly marketing and customer retention because it would have been much easier to just offer this deal to me when I first brought up the price increase. Why wait for a few months and throw this in my face? Will I take the offer? I don't know lol TO be honest, I feel like I am just a number to this company and they had no intention of honoring the 15 plus years of being a paying customer months ago, but now they do???
Again, the lesson for me is loud and clear. As I'm in business and offering my products and services to others, how can I show my current customers that I appreciate them NOW...Not just when they disappear and I'm looking to recoup some fees every month!
It's so true that it's harder to attract new customers than sell to our current customers. But I would say, it's even harder to sell 'old customers' once they feel like they are no longer appreciated. Make sure they know, they are appreciated!!
