The headline of this post comes from a blog post by my friend Brian Carroll. His post describes a conversation he had with a client where they discussed how lead generation often ignores current customers. As a result of the discussion, one CEO decided his company would begin focusing more on current customers. He even referred to their new focus as their “Customers First Plan”. The outcome of their new-found focus on existing customers was revealing. They increased revenue from current customers by 15%. Even better, their referrals jumped over 100%. As they focused more on existing customers, they no [...]
referrals
When I was a kid, a local car dealer had long-running advertising campaign centered on the tagline: “A better car deal – we wrote the book!” Recently, another Minnesota car dealer made a good start writing a different kind of book. This one might be called: “How to drive customers away by the busload.” This article in the StarTribune would make a good first chapter. It tells how this car dealer has dealt with a customer over what appears to be the car dealer’s mistake. (According to the article, they undercharged her by $7000.) One of their tactics was to [...]
The best kind of customer service happens when management enables employees to put the customer in control. -Guy Kawasaki Author of: Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking
One customer well taken care of could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising. -Jim Rohn Author of: Lessons on Life: How to Live a Successful Life
One of the best ways to increase revenue and profits in a tough economy is to get more new customers who are already sold on your product, service or brand. These customers can be hugely profitable because they require very little marketing or sales costs. By the time they reach your door they have already heard good things about your business and they are interested in learning more. If handle them right a high percentage will become customers with little effort on your part. Here are seven things you can do to increase customer referrals at your business. They’re not [...]
If you make customers unhappy in the real world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends. -Jeff Bezos Jeff Bezos: The Founder of Amazon.com
Too many companies brag about how customer-friendly they are. But that’s often all we experience. So it’s refreshing to see a big, well-known company being genuine with their customers. Adobe, the well-known maker of many popular software applications, has been delivering lousy service lately. But rather than ignore it or hide behind empty press releases, they faced it head-on. Lambert Walsh, their VP of Technical Services sent an open letter to their customers with an apology, a promise to do better and an easy an convenient way to communicate with them while they fix the problem.
One of the best ways to keep your customers coming back and get more referrals is to give your customers a great experience. And that’s true even when your customers aren’t human. When I watch this video, not only would I want our dog to be a “customer”, I want to go there too! If you like dogs you’ll love this video. It doesn’t tell you the experience this doggy daycare business provides. It shows you. And it does so brilliantly. Customer service is more than
“Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.” -W. Edwards Deming Author of: Out of the Crisis
“Loyal customers they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.” Chip Bell Author of: Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers
