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MAINTAININGALOYALCUSTOMER
TIP 1: BUILD LOYAL EMPLOYEES
How? By training and upskilling them,
giving them a real insight into your
business and industry and rewarding
them appropriately.
TIP 2: PRIORITISE CUSTOMER
RETENTION
Don’t do the dump and run and wash
your hands after the deposit has been
taken or the job has been completed.
Continue to find ways to engage with that
customer. Make contact via a courtesy
call one month after a job is complete and
check that everything is ok.
TIP 3: MAKEWRONGS RIGHT
If you do something wrong, admit it and
fix it – and fast. There is no quality more
redeeming than someone who admits they
are wrong and takes steps to fix things.
TIP 4: REWARDS GO FAR
If a customer has been referred to
you, find out who made the referral and
send them a bottle of champagne, a slab
or beer or something to say thank you.
They won’t be expecting it so it has even
more impact.
TIP 5: REMEMBERMY NAME
It may be impossible to try to remember
everyone you meet or information about
them but it’s easy to do if you keep some
simple records of your customers. For
example, do they have children, a dog,
birthdays or anniversaries?
I often meet a friend of mine at the
same coffee shop once every eight weeks.
When we arrive, the waitress always says,
“would you like the usual?”. They must get
50 customers a day yet they remember us
and our order. Impressive!
The best thing about gaining and
maintaining customer loyalty is that it
doesn’t take much time or effort but it does
need to be a conscious decision and action
– and it’s worth it.
Cecelia is the director of Marketing
Elements, which specialises in PR for
the building and environmental sectors.
She has over 20 years’ experience in
the industry and regularly delivers PR
courses. She is the chair of the Registered
Consultancies Group Committee for PRIA.
BY
CECELIA
HADDAD