How to Successfully Build Customer Loyalty
August 3, 2008
In today’s competitive marketplace, the race to increase profits by cultivating customer loyalty is going at full speed. Customer retention is not only a cost-effective and profitable strategy, it is a necessity for businesses wanting to stay ahead of the pack.
As consumers are spending less thanks to soaring fuel and food costs, companies are more reliant than ever on the loyalty of a dedicated customer base to maintain a competitive advantage. Following the Pareto Principle, 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers, and in a recession the numbers are closer to 95% and 5%, says Ajit Maira, senior vice president of the Information Technology Services Marketing Association. Since these returning customers cost less to reach, are less vulnerable to ploys from the competition and buy more over time, companies need to give customers an incentive not to go elsewhere for the same product or service.
One of the most successful ways to achieve this cost-effective retention is through the use of customer loyalty reward programs. By rewarding the ongoing purchase of product or services, companies achieve long-term relationships with customers. With a variety of loyalty programs available to companies, the key is discovering what works best for your needs and goals.
Build a Strong Foundation
Successful loyalty reward programs are built from a working knowledge of your customer base. To create the foundation, you must first identify the type of customers you want to retain and understand the types of products and services they value most. This information can then be used to determine the kinds of rewards programs that will appeal to them.
To obtain this level of understanding about your customers, it’s vital to conduct targeted research. In an article in the Harvard Business Review, authors Thomas O. Jones and W. Earl Sasser, Jr., suggest utilizing a combination of customer satisfaction surveys, customer feedback and market research. Together, these three tools can help businesses better grasp the wants and needs of the customer to build stronger brand loyalty.
Establish Winning Relationships
While good service is the key to earning customers, it’s not enough to maintain their long-term loyalty. In his book How to Win Customers & Keep Them for Life, author Michael LeBoeuf states, “Smart companies go the extra mile for the customer and show them just how dedicated they are to making sure that they feel good about doing business with them.”
To prove to your customers that your company is going that extra mile, you must show them you are doing just that on a regular basis. For example, Ben McConnell, co-author of Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customer Become a Volunteer Sales Force, suggests showing customers they are valued by inviting them to lend their opinions on new products and ideas, or invite them to your company’s conferences or meetings. These offers to participate in your company’s operations will promote a feeling of value and inclusion.
It’s also vital to maintain open lines of communication and always treat customers with courtesy. Loyalty is established over time, and customers need to believe that your company values them. Read more
Importance of Business Strategy Planning
August 3, 2008
Strategic planning in business is important from the perspective of the long term health of your enterprise. Figuring out where your business is going is fundamental to strategic planning and to your overall success, and taking the time out to pinpoint strategic objectives is a worthwhile practice for all small business owners. With time, there’s no reason you can’t be aiming to grow and increase your turnover. After all, all businesses were small once, and the opportunity to growth into a giant in your industry might be the goal arising from a strategic planning session. If that’s the case, business strategy and strategic planning are essential to achieving your goal, and no business can possibly head forward over the long term without some form of strategic planning and decision making.
Strategic planning in business is a vital back end exercise, and one that demands your own thoughts and ideas. Unlike most other business areas, strategic planning can’t be outsourced or passed on to other parties – it’s something you, as a business owner, will need to concern yourself with, and your drive and passion is the main factor sitting behind any success you do ultimately achieve. Thus your personal investment in strategic planning is fundamental to growing and improving the way your business operates, and without some element of strategic planning on a personal level, your business would simply stumble into problem after problem, and more than likely tread water in financial terms. For any small business owner, the importance in business strategy planning is obvious and essential to long term success, thus it is a factor that should be considered on a frequent, if you weekly or daily basis. Read more
Importance of Mailboxes
August 3, 2008
How to importance if you are have a mailboxes?. If you want to leave your home for vacation or travelling we dont want to busy to care about incoming mail when we on vacation, you may have to have a mailbox to receive the letters or the important documents in your home. So, you don’t have to worry the mail will be torn by unknown people or damaged by weather. It also will be nice if you purchase the personalized Mailboxes, and you can custom the design with your own address to make the postman find your mailbox easier.
You have to buy mailboxes with resist about corrosion, weather, and secure. You can see at Mailboxixchange. They offers Mailboxes with different categories such as single unit mailbox & post package. To make your selection even easier you have the option to choose the mailbox based on its category, and each categories has subcategories underneath it which gives us more descriptions of each products. Read more