Thursday, July 3, 2008

How To Create Lifetime Customers

By Theo McLanahan

Customers are tremendously important to all business owners. Without customers, there would be no income and, subsequently, no business. Individuals that buy things from a company are afterwards more likely to return there to buy again.

It is a smart business move to take the time to build long lasting relationships between yourself and your customer. Creating lifetime customers will net you more profit, than constantly seeking out new one-time customers.

In order to gain loyal customers, you need to offer a quality product. Customers that find your product to be better than they originally expected will come back looking for more of the same. If you offer a product that is inferior to that available from other sources, however, customers will not see any reason to offer you their business again.

After ensuring that your product is of the highest quality, work to put your company's customer service on the same level. Respond quickly to customers, especially if they have contacted you with complaints. Customers don't care how busy you may be or what other responsibilities you have; they want to receive a timely reply and expect your undivided attention.

In an effort to keep loyal customers aware of your products and services, maintain contact with them on a regular basis. Distributing a monthly newsletter is one way to inform clients of special limited time offers and new items you may be offering. In this way customers that have forgotten to purchase more things from your business because of their own busy schedules will also be reminded to do so.

A great way to motivate repeat purchases from old customers is holding "customer only" sales. Taking their previous purchases into consideration, you may be able to offer some kind of gift or special deal that coincides with their specific needs.

Consider one example. Suppose your company sells day planners and you will soon be releasing a new time management audio. Make a list of which customers have previously bought planners and provide them with a brief report regarding how important time management is that also mentions your new audio. You could boost sales by offering these previous customers a special "pre-launch" price.

Creating a lifetime customer doesn't happen overnight. It is a process that can take time. If you consistently show your appreciation and respect to your customers, you will be well on your way to creating lifetime relationships with them.

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