Customer Retention:
The Key Ingredient

Think you know what keeps your customers coming back? Check this list and see if you can spot the biggest motivator in generating repeat business:

price
perceived value
quality of service
how customers feel about the person or company they did business with

They're all factors. But the biggest factor in customer retention is the last item:

How someone feels about the way they were
treated by you or your company.

Not sure? Think about your own experiences:

Have you ever paid more for a product or service because something felt "off" with the lowest-priced provider?
Has your opinion about the value of a product or service gone up or down based upon how you were treated?
Did you ever talk yourself into doing business with a more expensive company because you liked how they treated you?

Obviously, you aren't going to just disregard legitimate factors like real quality and fair pricing. Neither will your customers. But more often than we realize, concepts like "real quality" and "fair pricing" are defined by how we feel, both during and after a business interaction.

If you've been in business for any length of time, you already know that it's a lot cheaper to satisfy customers than to find new ones. If you want to improve your customer retention, realize that in any business transaction there are TWO things that must be covered:

- Delivering the product or service as promised, and ...

- Letting your customer know that you give a darn!

Amazingly, too many companies train their customer service reps to focus only on the business aspects of a transaction. Forget personal service! But this can work to your advantage when you provide a great contrast to your competition. It only takes a little extra effort, although not nearly as much as replacing your customers!

Related Topics:

Five Simple Tips for Keeping Your Best Customers
For almost no cost and very little time, these ideas could greatly improve your back-end revenues.

Looking "In" From Your Customer's Point of View
Put yourself in your customer's shoes and ask, "Does this company make me want to do business with them?

13 Ways to Generate Positive Referrals
Add in a few more of these strategies and watch your business really take off!

Customer Retention: Turning Complaints Into Profits
One of the best customer retention opportunities comes when you know how to turn around a complaint, which strengthens your relationship and your business.

Small Business Marketing - Get the Word Out!
What motivates people to tell others about your business? Here's what's behind the enthusiasm.

Qualify Your Business Prospect
Minimum qualifications for any business prospect and how to screen potential customers.

Customer Retention:The Key Ingredient

Customer Retention:
The Key Ingredient