How to keep repeat customers

Customers care. A repeat customer is someone you get to know, nurture, and that by keeping your relationship as personal as possible, your repeat customers spend more money, generate larger transactions, refer more customers, and buy more. Learn how to keep loyal and repeat for your business.

Maarifa, a management trainer, took his position in front of a group of sales and marketing managers at a workshop, carrying out a survey on why businesses lose customers.
The survey revealed some findings you should know about.

Why customers donot comeback
It found that one per cent of the loss was attributable to death, while three per cent was as a result of customers having changed location. The study further established that five per cent of the lost customers had chosen to do business with friends or relatives, as nine per cent went for a cheaper alternative.

Maarifa paused. You could tell that he was about to reveal something major. The two-day workshop was titled, “How to Get Repeat Customers”. According to the survey, about 14 per cent of customers leave because of unresolved complaints. The majority, and that is 68 per cent, leave because they feel that they have been treated with indifference or have experienced a negative attitude from those providing services.

Power is in the hands of the business
The conclusion from these findings is that it is in the power of any business to stop losing customers. That is because, 82 per cent of customers who leave do so because of issues that are in your power to amend.

Maarifa posed to the audience: “Which is better? New customers or repeat customers?”
A few managers felt that they needed new customers. The majority said repeat customers were better.
“The answer to this question lies in the type of business you are in,” said Maarifa.
“It is also determined by whether you want fast growth or gradual, incremental growth for your company. If your focus is on quick growth, you want many new customers. Most organisations plan for gradual growth of their customer base over time. Whatever the case, you need to focus on not only on how to get new customers but also on how to retain them.”

Customers experience
Maarifa went on to explain that whether or not an organisation got repeat customers, it depended on the experience that each customer got. “Beyond the obvious things like greeting a customer with a smile, selling high quality products at fair prices and making customers feel that you have met their unique needs, develop a plan to make contact with existing customers through email, telephone or personal visits,” he advised.

“In addition to finding out how well the products or services you sold them faired, inform them of new products that might be of use to them. Satisfied customers are your best free marketing strategy. Do not ignore the power of the word of mouth. They will often provide you with referrals, and therefore new markets,” he added.
One of the marketing managers raised his hand and noted: “I agree. In my organisation, we make follow-ups by carrying out customer satisfaction surveys to find out if there are areas for improvement. You will be surprised how many customers come back to us with more requests for business as a result. It works”.

Maarifa agreed: “That is a powerful way of feeling the pulse of your customers’ needs so as to adapt to them. It also indicates that you are a credible and flexible organisation. I know very few of you have explored the potential goldmine that lies in getting customer testimonials on your products and services. Go out of your way and capture on video, Facebook or any other social network, satisfied customers endorsing your products. It is a powerful marketing tool.”

Handling hostile customers
Another manager asked: “What if you are confronted by a hostile customer who feels that they got a raw deal? Do you ignore them and move on?” Maarifa threw back the question to the floor. Some of the managers felt that some customers were impossible to please. A few felt they would use that experience as a learning point.

Maarifa nodded and said: “You are right. Meeting the needs of an unsatisfied customer is the best way to go. Be courteous and honest if their need is beyond what you can do. Give them options. Finally, create a rapport. I know of one organisation that had a habit of sending birthday greetings to all its customers, which both surprised and delighted them,” he concluded.

Dr Kithinji is a trainer, researcher and consultant at the Kenya School of Government, Nairobi