I’m so over you

53442799 We all love chasing after new clients.  The rush of winning a new account or having someone new announce to the world that they love you is heady stuff.  It's enough to make many a business leader swoon a little.

Fast forward a few months…and all of a sudden, that shiny new client is a whole lot less interesting. 

Net result?  Nearly 70% of business lost in America is lost due to post-sales apathy.

Amazing isn’t it? We spend all this time and effort luring them to our business. We seduce them on the sales floor. We listen attentively to their problem and help them find a solution. We gave them a fair price. We smile and wave as they leave.

And then, we ignore them.

There is no hotter prospect than your current client. They know you. They liked you enough to try you once.  Hopefully, they had a reasonable or even good experience the first go around.  So why aren’t you talking to them?  Why aren’t you telling them more about you? Why aren’t you asking them more about them? 

If you don’t have a customer retention program – one that turns your clients into raving fans…you need one.

Make it simple, easy to implement and something you will actually do.  Consistently.  Start on it today.  It’s that important.

 

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8 comments on “I’m so over you

  1. Jeff Walden says:

    While I think it’s important to retain your existing profitable clients, it’s equally important to analyze them on a regular basis and clean up the unprofitable ones. Maybe that clean up process is to see how you can turn your relationship profitable again or maybe it’s to simply cut the contract and say good-bye.

  2. Great post! Converting customers to raging fans is extremely important and probably the same should be used for employee retention too. Having fans work for you can be a HUGE advantage. They pass on the feel-good factor to the customers.

  3. DCUrbanDad says:

    It is amazing how many companies miss out on this fact. I had a blast creating a client retention program in a former gig. Nothing better than creating a huge salesforce through your clients.

  4. Engago team says:

    Look on your website to see which customers are coming back to visit.
    When they visit again it’s time to contact them.

  5. Karin H says:

    @Engago team

    Mind if I don’t agree with that? You really should be focussing of making sure your customers are coming back to your website constantly – when they need you, your products and services – by contacting them regularly and informing them about back-end products, services, news etc. Waiting till they come back on their own could be way too late.

    Keep up a constant interesting conversation with your clients and see your back-end sales and W-o-M increase in ways you will not believe!

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

  6. Brian says:

    Hi Drew.

    This has all to do with the seduction process. Attracting a client takes time, effort, persuasion. You need to show your best side, convince them, make them laugh or see in their eyes you have impressed them with your market knowledge and business ideas. Then they sign up and in a few weeks, they look like they have been hanging around forever. And you go hunting for that promising prospect…

    Solution: try to find an equal challenge in burning that old flame again!

  7. Luton says:

    Isn’t there a fine line between keeping your customers informed and annoying them with marketing emails. many site visitors who contact you through your site don’t want follow up emails, so what do you do then?

  8. whiten teeth says:

    Attracting a client takes time, effort, persuasion. You need to show your best side, convince them, make them laugh or see in their eyes you have impressed them with your market knowledge and business ideas.

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