How to have your customer come again: The Challenge of a New Business
I had a good time today with a brother-in-faith and friend, @Abasbrave who visited my Hub to break the news of his soon-to-launch tech hub (CITI TREND). It's his first leap into the business world and he decided to tap from my wealth of experiences and we got talking. First thing that came on the tabe was how to make his new customers come again.
Every successful business is brokered when there is a giver and take of a service or product. The business is at the giving end and the customer is at the receiving end. No matter how sophisticated and quality-minded a commercial centre is, if there are no patrons to the products and services so offered or rendered, all the investments are a waste.
We'll all agree that the customer is the main driving force and the ability of the business management to meet the customer's "need" is what would determine the volume of sales that would be accrued. WHile I may not overrate the thought that "customer is king" as many of them do not actally know what they need, there is a big work to be done to retain a customer and have him return.
In my years in business, I have discovered that there is no better marketing strategy than have your customer well satisfied. He'll bring another next time. It is on thing to win a customer and another to keep them for as long as they are still alive.
Marketers must be taught to understand the value of having one customer come back several times, therefore compounding his contributions to the firm. That lifetime recurring sales is more important than a one-time "jack-pot" sale.
Below, I attempt to highlight a few ways that can help to have a customer come back for more buys after the first contact.
1. The Welcoming Bonus
Every product or service already have a competitor even when its an innovation. It takes this knowledge to be able to present your product as the best alternative to the previous that the customer was used to. Giving out a welcoming bonus could be one of the ways to ease their worries of your quality, durability and price-fitness.
As we brainstormed, I mentioned the need to start off with free services for few days to have the new customers who are coming for a trial to get eased of their fear of losing their funds to a service that they aren't sure would meet their need.
2. Feedback Receipt
Receiving feedback from customers, especially new ones is an exceptional way of making the customer feel as part of the firm. It creates a sense of acceptance and shows the readiness of the business to give the best. According to Richard Branson of Virgin Group, “a complaint is a chance to turn a customer into a lifelong friend”.
Being able to maximize customer feedback is crucial to bring a customer closer to your brand and thus, would secure a come back patronage. Most customers do not return to buy from a place because they have the best of products nor are won by price slashes. They return where they feel accepted and cared for.
All customers are first humans, and they have emotions too. The ability of a brand to understand this fact could be helpful in inciting their love for your brand.
I would be glad to share thoughts with you on the best strategies to retain a customer in a new business. Let's maximize the comments section of this blog post.
