Creating Customers for Life

It’s natural for business owners to focus on current sales/profit to measure their success. After all, bills must be paid. But by taking a broader approach and looking at the whole lifetime of a customer, you may realize you’re not capitalizing on sales that require much less effort and that you may be leaving money on the table.

So instead of focusing on selling the next new customer, let’s take a look at how to build long-term relationships with customers that will provide you much more than a one-time sale.

Before the Sale

Most of business owners have the “before sale” nailed. You understand how to pitch, market your service/product, reach your target audience and promote your product. However, oftentimes business owners will move on from a potential customer if there isn’t an immediate resulting sale. So, Rule #1 – don’t shrug off a potential customer because they don’t need your product/service at that moment. Instead, put them on a drip campaign to touch base with them occasionally and send them articles/tips or other valuable information. That way, when they are ready to make their purchase, you remain front of mind. 

During the Sale

Continue to provide value throughout the buying process. Let’s say you sell personal care products. Get to know your customers and determine their needs, what they want and their pain points. While they might be purchasing from you because they need a lotion for their dry skin, have them sign up for your blog, which provides education-based marketing. In your blog, you have articles about different ingredients that solve different ailments. Note that the intention of your blog is NOT selling. It’s a way for you to provide free added value to your customers and have them repeatedly return to your website and online platforms for valuable information and news. 

After the Sale

After the sale is when the ball most frequently gets dropped. Once a sale is complete, many business owners make the mistake of never connecting with their customers again. HOWEVER, it is these very same people who have just purchased from you who are either going to purchase again, or refer to you to their family and friends. And who wouldn’t rather work with customers who already know us than start cold-calling all over again?

Thanks to CRMs and email drip campaigns, building relationships with existing clients can be largely automated. Once you’ve done the initial set-up, you can continue the more painstaking process of cold- calling and finding new clients. All the while, you’ll be maintaining your relationships with existing customers and blowing your customer lifetime value through the roof!