There is an old business saying that goes:
“it is only a sale until they come back, then it’s a customer”
There is so much value in the little sentence… make sure you read that puppy a couple times. This is something that I know I have been guilty of in the past, so I’m sure you may have been as well.
If you are focusing on just making that individual sale, closing just one time and then moving on, you could be running your business to the red-line.
The businesses that create consistent growth over time, and have the ability to weather the storm year after year, are the ones that build CUSTOMERS and not sales.
It does not matter whether you are selling over the Internet, in your underwear at your kitchen table, or you are selling a service face-to-face. It’s all the same. You have to create a relationship with your customer. You need to start thinking of your customer as your friend, because after all, they are providing for you financially, so it is your DUTY as a business owner to provide then nothing less than the best possible service that you can provide.
Here are 10 simple things that you can do to cement that customer relationship:
1. Call them out of the blue with a tip that will help them, unrelated to your business. Ask them about their life and actually care about the answer. This is NOT a sales call.
2. Email them a positive press clipping that you found about their business with a congratulatory note.
3. Use the power of referrals in your network to help them out with other services, such as legal if you are not a lawyer.
4. Send them to your competition (yeah, you think I’m crazy, but hold on)- If you cannot provide them the best possible service for the customer’s given situation, send them to someone who can. Your customer will respect this ballsy move FOREVER. They will not forget it and will come back to when they need you.
5. Give them a huge discount if they are one of your best customers, something where you might not make any money on a transaction, and let them know it.
6. Remember their birthdays, anniversaries, dog’s birthday, the day they got the measles… whatever. Send them a card in the actual MAIL, not email. This will go a long way. DO NOT PITCH YOUR BUSINESS in these cards, like my idiot car salesman does.
7. If you have a commodity-like product with lots 0f competition, treat them as if they are the last customer you will ever have.
8. Don’t let them forget about you. Create a newsletter that is mailed or email on a frequent basis to share valuable tips about your industry and let them know the cool things that you have going on in your business.
9. Have a picnic- What other oil change place is going to have a pony ride for the kids? What other landscaper on earth is going to throw a customer bar-b-que? What consultant takes all of their customers out for ice cream?
10. Rewards programs- Develop a frequent buyer’s club or some kind fo system that provides incentive for only doing business with you. If you are in retail you MUST do this or you are missing out on thousands of dollars. If you sell anything else, this would probably be very unique to your industry. I hav yet to see anyone do this with information products.
What do you think? What are a few ways that you like to use to create customers instead of just a sale?
If you want 101 more ways to get customers for FREE and to keep them for life, then stay-tuned. Underdog Marketing 101 is on it’s way and it’s the most powerful book I’ve written, to date.
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Until tomorrow,
Joshua Black
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Another saying that I like that falls in with yours is “people don’t buy drill bits, they buy holes.”
Meaning, people buy the benefit of what your product can do. The key is to make yourself part of that benefit. It really comes down to selling yourself.
Thanks for stopping by Josh…great name! Yep, that one’s a classic. Another one that I like is “don’t tell me about your weed killer, tell me about my crabgrass”
-Joshua Black
Joshua,
Great post.
I was just talking on the phone last night with someone and the topic of bloggers came up. It came to the point that many bloggers tell you about ways to “make money” “increase sales” “get more followers” but they always omit the single most important word:
Customers
Your tips are very solid and thank you for mentioning customers, the most important resource for a business.
Steve
Steve, without a customer there is no business. Many people love to talk about traffic and subscribers, but without someone pulling the trigger and making a purchase, it’s all just speculation. Thanks for reading.
-Joshua Black
I think this is a topic that is in the subconscience of most people, but you helped everyone conscience realize the importance of rapport with your customers. I can’t wait to share this post with the rest of my team.
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