In the previous blog post we argued that for many small businesses their best customers contribute more than 30% of sales and profit even when they make up only 10% of total customer. We said that you have to make these customers feel special by giving them special treatment and recognizing them.
In this post we will explore additional ways by which you can treat your best customers in a special fashion.
- Introduce new products / services to them first.
Your best customers are evangelists of your business and your products. By introducing your new products and services to them first you get dual benefit of getting their feedback and spreading the word about your new product. When computer software companies are getting ready to release new software they invite their best customers to “beta test” them. These customers use the product before it is finalized and give the company feedback about what they like and dislike as well as things that don’t work well. This concept is not limited to software. Any small business can utilize this concept when introducing new products and services. - Go beyond their expectations.
When we owned the business we frequently used to give free side items to our best customers when they ordered. We would do this without them knowing or expecting it. It is when you give them something extra when it is not expected that you can make those customers feel special and keep them coming to your business every day. Another business colleague of ours used to give 50% discount to their best customers on certain days he called customer appreciation day. He would promote it by saying – “Today is the day we want to recognize those customers that keep us in business.” It worked quite well in hanging on to the best customers for a long time. - Treat their complaints seriously.
Airlines provide a special phone numbers to their frequent flier customers who log hundreds of thousands of miles with them annually. This number is not published anywhere. It is given only to those special customers. They also make sure that the employees handling calls on that phone line are well-trained and well-equipped to treat these customers. For your small business you need to find a similar way to ensure that best customers are treated expeditiously and seriously. We used to give our business cell phone numbers to some of our best customers and ask them to call us any time they felt our attention was needed. I am sure you can find different ways to do the same.
Do you have any additional ideas to share?
Image Courtesy: tracyhunter
