Transform a One-Shot Sale Into a Lifelong Customer

7 Tips on Keeping Customers for Life

1. Deliver what you're say you're going to do. - If the business can't deliver on basics, then any other steps will be wasted effort.
2. Expect the best. - Another stumbling block to establishing customers for life is turning the tables. Many businesses wait for customers to "prove" their worth before they start to take steps to cement the relationship. Instead, approach everyone as a potential lifer.

3. From there, go beyond the usual. - Once the basics are clicking, one way to win a customer for life is to consistently exceed the expected. Establish a baseline of good, and make it policy to climb to better and beyond.
4. Watch your customer, not your bottom line. - A continuing element of lifelong customer loyalty is more attention to the needs and preferences of your clientele and less on your earnings growth. Of course, profits are crucial. But long-term solvency derives from customers who are also there for the long haul. And that stems from a business which listens in any number of ways.
5. Nurture lifelong employees. - An effective strategy to win long-term clientele doesn't exist in a vacuum. Treat your employees as you would a customer who you want to see year after year. Not only does that encourage staff to also do their bit to entice customer loyalty, it's simply a good idea to maintain a consistent emphasis on a supportive, responsive environment.
6. Make customers want to stick around. - Great service or products are terrific, but it never hurts to stack the deck to lure customers into the long-term fold.
7. Be picky about your lifelong customers. - Saying some people aren't cut out to be lifelong customers seems akin to saying you despise Bambi. But the fact is that some customers are more trouble than they're worth. Monitor what goes into keeping a customer satisfied.

Read the full article at: http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/management/customer-relations/7-tips-on-keeping-customers-for-life.aspx?fbid=hP6sp9lg1by

Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.

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