Are You Giving Your Customers Enough Reasons To Return To Your Business?

Good customer service just isn't enough anymore in the marketplace in which we live. Times are changing and business owners are learning that they need to create such an awesome customer loyalty program that they are always at the forefront of their customers' minds on a regular basis.

To compete in today's global marketplace you need to stand out from the crowd - be better than your competitors, be faster than your competitors and, more importantly -

BE MORE MEMORABLE THAN YOUR COMPETITORS!

Your success in business depends upon your ability to change.

Customers in 2003 are more demanding, more intelligent, and have more choices than ever before when it comes to where they spend their money and how often they spend it. Wouldn't you rather it was your business and not your competitor's?

You need to work smarter, not harder, and devote your time and energy on the things that count....

Building greater customer loyalty that will grow your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...even while you sleep.

Become important in your global marketplace and you will be rewarded by being at the forefront of your customers' minds and receiving endless referrals to your business.

Create a memorable experience in the minds of your prospects and customers and you will benefit for a lifetime.

If you want to make a second, third, fifth and twelfth sale you must create an incredible customer service experience that your customers will talk about forever.

The quality of your customer service will be remembered long after the price they paid is forgotten.

If you want to drastically increase your number of visitors to customers and your customers to ongoing repeat customers you need to make contact with them as often as possible.

Marketing gurus tell us that if you are not in touch with your customers every six weeks they're not really your customers, but people who your competitors are continually trying to lure away from you and your business.

WHOSE POCKETS DO YOU WANT YOUR CUSTOMERS TO FILL...YOURS OR YOUR COMPETITORS?

Create a point of difference that is so original that sets you apart from your competitors your customers wouldn't dream of doing business with anyone else.

If your customers don't see you as being different from your competition they will always make their buying decision based on price alone

Send The Right Message To Your Marketplace!

Follow up is one of the most critical elements of any business. It is vital to follow up at all times: your prospects, your customers, your affiliates.

Did you know on average it takes 7-12 follow ups for a person to buy from you so you MUST contact them regularly on an ongoing basis.

Look at these alarming statistics provided by the National Sales Association:• 2% of sales are made on 1st contact.

• 3% of sales are made on 2nd contact.

• 5% of sales are made on 3rd contact.

• 10% of sales are made on 4th contact.

• 80% OF SALES ARE MADE ON 5TH-12TH CONTACT.The three areas of follow up are:

(1) PROSPECTS

Offer a free report, training course, ebook or newsletter so you can keep contact with those who don't buy on the first visit.

(2) CUSTOMERS

By keeping in constant touch with your customers you'll create so many happy and satisfied customers they will refer you to their friends. Happy customers are informed customers, less likely to ask for a refund and more likely to buy from you again.

(3) AFFILIATES

If you want income-producing affiliates you must give them the latest tips, techniques, training and motivation with constant follow up.

Once your business grows there's no way you can follow up with your prospects, customers and affiliates by hand so you MUST set up your automated system from the beginning or as soon as you can.

*****ONCE IT'S SET UP IT RUNS WITH NO FURTHER INPUT FROM YOU*****

Thankfully in recent times companies have become aware of how important client follow up is and they have created autoresponders (automatic messages/emails) for this purpose to put your business on autopilot.

TIP: Avoid using free autoresponders as they usually include advertising for other people's products (sidetracking people away from your offer and helping you to look unprofessional. Remember, in business how you are perceived by your customers means everything!)

Once your system is in place you fill it with the emails that will go out automatically once someone subscribes or is subscribed automatically!

SAMPLE FOR PROSPECTS:-• Message (1) Free information you promised (immediate delivery)

• Message (2) More great information about the initial product (one day after message 1)

• Message (3) Mix in information about your product with free information (one day after message 2)

• Message (4) Start to sell your product while giving more information (one day after message 3)

• Message (5) More free information and how they will benefit from buying your product or service (one day after message 4).SAMPLE FOR CUSTOMERS:-• Message (1) Thank them for their order and let them know they can contact you if they need any help (immediate delivery)

• Message (2) Thank them again and give them a free bonus (one day after message 1)

• Message (3) Send a short note to say you are offering them another free bonus and ask how they are enjoying the product (seven days after message (2)

• Message (4) Send a short note saying you hope they are enjoying the product and that you thought they might be interested a complimentary product....(seven days to one month after message (1)If you haven't got autoresponders in place it's not too late. Give your customers a reason to return to your business by keeping in contact with them and you'll be am*zed at the results you'll achieve. Have fun!

About The Author

Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved. Karin Manning. Karin is the publisher of Net Wealth, an interactive newsletter for advanced internet veterans, entrepreneurs and beginners alike. To start receiving your weekly marketing, motivational, customer service and money tips visit http://www.reprintrights4u.com and fill out the popup on entry with details of your ePackage & bonus newsletter subscription & free gifts.

karin@reprintrights4u.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Customer Service Information:

Related Articles


Raising The Bar For Online Magazine Subscription Services And Customer Service
After years of flying below the radar in the magazine subscription service arena online, MagMall.com is gaining traction real fast.
Customer Service Is Dying - and Im Not Feeling So Good Myself
Have you ever called a company and been greeted with the phrase "Hold, please"? How do they know you can hold? They don't even know who you are. Maybe you can't hold; maybe you have 10 seconds of juice left on your cell phone and your hair is on fire.
Communicating Value
Abstract: People buy for their reasons, not yours. This article covers the key elements that prospects want to hear you talk about.
Listening to Customers - 5 Tips
In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK 'Management Today' has three pieces, relating to the importance of listening to customers.Susan Rice, CEO of Lloyds TSB makes it clear how vital it is for great leaders to listen and hear.
Customer Service: Why Bears Make Bad Customers
Every business owner should have a picture of his or her ideal customer. When I picture my ideal customer, I see a business owner struggling to find time for all that needs to be done, someone passionate about what they do, someone striving to find answers to make their business run better.
Poor Customer Service - Are Your Customers Driving Away Other Customers
Every customer you have is a word-of-mouthadvertiser for you. Unfortunately 90% of this freeadvertising is negative.
Customer Service - A Lost Art?
Is customer service a lost art? Before you answer that question, take a moment and think about the last few times you have gone shopping or out to dinner. Okay, now that you have really thought about it, is your answer any different? Why is it that when we actually DO receive excellent customer service that it makes such an impression on us that we usually choose to go back? Why - because the occurrences are so few and far between!!! As a home business owner, it is imperative to my business that customer service is ALWAYS a top priority.
Handling Difficult Customers - 8 Strategies
In any business our customers are one of our most important assets. Unfortunately there are days when not all customers want to be friendly or pleasant.
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Learn from the Complaints of Customers and Employees
Listening to complaints, whether they're reasonable or not, is a part of every manager's job. Sometimes complaints can be overwhelming.
Increase Sum in Your Check Account with Follow-Ups
We'll be examining what makes follow up to prospects/customers so important on our online world today.Are you familiar with this scenario?Joined an affiliate program with good pay-out.
Complaining Consumers
The salesman's job is to be well informed; extremely well informed. For this information is how he earns his bread.
What Do They Want Anyway?
You want customers. I want customers.
Dont Eliminate The Middle Man - Add One
Today, there are situations when we actually add a "middle person" instead of eliminating one for increased service efficiency. If it's cost-effective and demand is high, then proper market positioning will make it a worthwhile endeavor.
Foolproof Customer Service Strategies (That Only A Fool Would Try!)
Ever notice how customer service varies from store to store? You walk into some stores, and before you can say "Buzz off!" a salesperson asks "May I help you?""No thanks.""May I help you?" asks another.
Clients - What They Want from You
A growing number of individuals are finding themselves called to help others and go on to fulfil this call by training to become a practitioner in one of the healing arts.The range of conventional, traditional, holistic, complementary and alternative therapies is extensive with new thoughts on old themes being introduced almost daily.
You Bever Know Who Youre Serving
You Never Know Who You're Serving when customers turn irate.I think of myself as a reasonable person.
Are You A Coward? I Was
Over the last month, I have come to hate emails and answerphones; not because I get 100 emails every day but because emails and answerphones are fast becoming the tool of the coward. At Beyond Philosophy we worked with a client a while ago whose account managers and sales teams never used to speak to anyone! They just used to send emails.
Modern Call Center Solutions - Keeping in Touch is the Key
Call center solutions solve a range of age-old problems. As far back as ancient times, the success of a business has always depended on how well that business can communicate with clients and meet their needs.
Your Voice Print
"Mountains are built one pebble at a time and climbed one step at a time." This is a quote of mine that I personally put into practice each day as I progress towards fulfilling my WHY in life.
CEM Can Improve Customer Loyalty
'A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases profits by 25 to 95 percent.''The greater the loyalty of customers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders, the greater the profits reaped .