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The Lifetime Value of Your Average Customer

Leslie H Sprankling 2011

The lifetime value or Marginal Net Worth of your average customer can easily be calculated if you know your customers’ buying habits. To be able to estimate this value depends on how accurate your records are on all your customers. If you don’t keep accurate and timely records on your customers and their buying habits you are not only missing great opportunities to resell to your customers, you may also be concentrating your energies on the wrong ones.

Frankly, and I am sad to say this, most Australian business people do not keep any kind of records on their customers, let alone accurate and timely. Why?

• Some consider it is too much trouble or too time consuming,
• others think it is a waste of time,
• others still haven’t even thought about it and
• yet others have perhaps thought it to be a good idea but don’t know how to do it.

Let me ask you a couple of simple questions!

For example, can you identify what percentage of your customers are responsible for the bulk of your trade or business?

Do you know many, or any, of your customers by name?

Not all customers buy as frequently or as much as others. So you need to keep accurate records of who your customers are as well as how much and how often they buy from you. This is vital for the ongoing health of your business and its resilience to recession.

So that you will understand this concept properly, and get its true worth, you need to learn about the “lifetime value” to you of your average customer. If you understand the “lifetime value” of your customer – you will be able acquire new customers in a start-up business, as well as an established one, quickly, easily and, most importantly, at affordable cost. This is the “Marketing Edge” that will catapult your business over the top of your competition, skyrocket your turnover, get those new customers coming through your door and keep them coming back.

Regardless of the size of your business, no matter what product or service you sell, you must first understand what is the “Lifetime Value” of your customer. When you know this, you can decide exactly what you can afford to spend to bring in a new customer— and the best way to go about it.

The Value Of A Lifetime Customer.

The true value of a customer cannot be measured by simply one purchase. Once you make a sale to your customers you have to keep them and resell to them. It has been proven that once someone buys from you, they are far more likely to buy from you again. The smart business person knows that the value of that $40 first sale may be 10 or even 100 times that over a lifetime.

Knowing the lifetime value of a customer can determine your advertising budget and many other marketing strategies. If you look at a customer only as a one time sale, you could be losing 300% or even 3,000% of your potential revenue.

Here is the formula you need to calculate the Lifetime Value of a customer:-

The Lifetime Value of a customer is his average purchase value, multiplied by the number of times he buys from you in a year, multiplied by the number of years he remains your customer.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you have 1,000 customers. The number of transactions you do in a year is 6,000 and your gross turnover (income) is $600,000.00. Your records show that your average customer stays with you for 3 years. Your price markup is 100% (if you buy an item for $50 and sell it for $100 your markup is 100%).

These statistics tell you that your average customer buys from you 6 times a year and his average spend is $100.00. Your average profit per sale is $50.00 so the lifetime value of your average customer is $50 x 6 (times a year) x 3 (years) = $900.00.

In knowing that average value, you can determine what percentage of that $900 you would be willing to spend to get more new customers.

This article is extracted from our comprehensive 40 page guide on “How to Grow Your Business with Fresh New Customers” and provides in detail the methods to acquire new customers without breaking the bank. If you would like to obtain a copy of this guide, please email us at info @ cairnsbiz.com.

In our next article we will discuss how you can determine the cost of acquiring new customers.

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What is Unique about Your Business?

by Leslie H Sprankling 2011

Take a moment to consider your business from the perspective of your customers and potential customers.

Can you identify the one thing, above all else, that you believe is the reason why your customers patronize you instead of your competitors? Is this the same reason that will attract to your business people who are not yet your customers?

Can you pick that one thing from this list?

1. My prices are lower than my competitors;
2. My products/services are better than my competitors;
3. My business is more conveniently located;
4. I provide free delivery;
5. I provide better customer service;
6. My staff and I are more friendly;
7. We are open all hours;
8. We offer a better guarantee.

If your one thing is listed above or is a combination of several factors listed above, or different to the above, write them down.

Then, mull over the factor, or factors, that you believe make your business different from your competitors, and then ask some of your loyal customers why they patronize your business instead of a competitor. Ask also, if there are any factors that they think you can improve on.

Where is this all leading?

What we are doing together here is defining your USP. Your USP, or Unique Selling Proposition, is the difference between you and your competitors and the factor(s) that cause your customers to shop with you and remain loyal to you. If you can define your USP and then publicize it, you can attract more new customers to your business, keep the existing customers happy, and get them to buy more and shop more often.

Winston Churchill famously stated many decades ago, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.” If you understand politics or business, you will realize the truth of that statement.

Many business people try to be all things to all people. That is just not possible.

So you need to decide on the factors that are the most desirable and pleasing to your ideal customer, then incorporate those factors or qualities into your business. Next, you need to examine each of those factors to decide (with your customers’ help) which one (or perhaps two) is the one quality that needs to be incorporated into everything you do in your business. This includes advertising, personal communications, telephone calls, letters, emails, face to face service etc. This should be the one identifying quality of your business that makes you, and your business, stand out from the rest.

When you make this one factor the focus of every part of your business you will find that the people you want as customers or clients will be attracted to your business and will stay with you longer, buy more, and buy more often. And that is the fundamental concept in business growth because there are only three ways to grow your business –

1. Get more customers;
2. Get your customers to buy more; and
3. Get your customers to buy more often.

If you would like more information on deciding and defining your USP please send an email to info @ cairnsbiz.com for a free report which will be emailed to you.

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2011 Leslie H Sprankling

This is the final part of the three part series on website mistakes -

Deadly Sin #5 – Using pdf files instead of editable pages

It can be tempting to simply scan existing documents into pdf format and upload them to your website, give your visitors a link to click on and up comes your pdf.

Why do so many do this? It is quick and easy and they get their Q&A’s, catalogues, menus, ‘about us’ info and a lot of other standard information uploaded easily and quickly.

So why shouldn’t you do this? It’s easy, right?

Yes, it’s easy, but it’s wrong. Here’s why!

People (and that includes me) hate finding pdf’s on websites. They can take a long time to load and they can be hard to read. So, even if people stay on your site long enough for the pdf to load, they are quickly dissatisfied with the poor quality.

So, take the time to create a new page that contains all the relevant information. You can build in direct links and backlinks, add great photos, add or change content at will (search engines love changing content) and make your website a pleasure to visit instead of an irritation.

Irritated visitors leave a site quickly and look for a better one so, for your own sake, skip the pdf’s.

Deadly Sin #6 – Failing to get to the point

Drayton Bird, legendary English direct marketing genius makes a strong point for the best copy writing focus you can have. He rightly points out that your website is the modern form of direct mail marketing. In direct marketing the shortest distance between you and your web page visitor (your prospective customer) is your best benefit.

Why waste the first few paragraphs of your valuable web page on waffle (unless you are selling waffles)? Get to the point!

In newspapers, the most important news items are ‘above the fold” where they are immediately seen by the reader as soon as he takes hold of the paper. That’s where your most important news, or most important benefit, needs to be. So, when your web page opens on the screen of your visitor’s computer (or mobile phone), he/she is immediately captured by what is visible. Avoid large graphics at the top of the page, they may take a long time to load, frustrating the visitor in the process. The first thing your visitor should see, while other stuff is still loading below the fold, is the most important thing you want them to know.

This will draw them into the rest of your web page as they want to learn the details or get more general information.

So, on the most important ‘real estate’ you own on the internet (the section of the age that appears first as your page opens on screen), get right to the point and tell your visitor what he is there to find out.

Deadly Sin #7 – Failing to ask your customers what they want

People love to be asked their opinion. This is one of the most important and useful ways you can get feedback from the people who pay your bills, feed and educate your kids and pay off your mortgage – your customers.

One of the most successful retailers in the world really understood the hearts and minds of his customers. He coined two proverbial adages that have stood the passage of time for 80 or more years. The first is, “The Customer is always Right!” and the second is, “Give the Lady what she Wants!”

Now, if you have been in sales, especially at the retail level, you know that the customer is not always right. But in the perception of the customer, he or she is always right. And that’s what you have to deal with. Even though the customer may not be right, if you can satisfy him or her, you have made a friend; and the friend will make you more friends. So, even if it costs you a little humble pie, apologize for the perceived error, and even if it costs you a little money for a refund or upgrade, or even a freebie, pay the price to make the customer happy. It will pay far more in dividends that what it might cost you.

Now, that piece of advice is more for face to face situations. This next one is where you can beat all your competition hands down on your website.

If you want to know what your customers and prospects are thinking – ask them. If you want to know what they think of your service, your products quality, anything at all that may help you serve them better, create and maintain loyalty, keep them coming back to your website and your store, ask them.

How can you do this?

You can use the Survey Monkey. For more information on how to set up a free survey on the Survey Monkey, go to Google and search for ‘Survey Monkey’ or email me at info @ cairnsbiz.com for some free helpful advice on surveys.

If you would like to receive regular business tips on how to improve and grow your business, just fill in the short form to get a free subscription to our twice weekly newsletter.

Free Website Evaluation

If you already have a website for your business but would like a free evaluation please send your request to info @ cairnsbiz.com. We will acknowledge your request within 24 hours but it may take us up to 2 weeks to complete our evaluation and send you a report. This is because we are a small firm specializing in local business marketing and it may take us a while to get to your site. But be sure we will, and you will get an honest review with some free advice on how to improve it.

If you don’t already have a website for your business, you really should seriously investigate the benefits of having a website as well as the best way to get one. Web designers are currently offering web design for small business at prices starting around $895 for a simple 4 page site, up to $2,997 and well beyond (up to 5 figures for flash and all the other bells and whistles).

At what level should you enter? Unless you want a fully eCommerce enabled website that is fully capable of high level interaction, online sales, delivery etc., then you need to start with a small website that solves all the 7 deadly sins while helping you improve your business profile and gets you new customers. Shop around, get quotes, but don’t shell out any money. When you have seen what is available locally, and the costs involved, contact us at info @ cairnsbiz.com for information on how you can get a good website, free of charge – yes, a free website that you will be happy with.

Leslie

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2011 Leslie H Sprankling

Many women restaurant owners and managers have learned how to drive a starving crowd to their restaurants on a shoestring budget.

On the other hand, many men restaurant owners and managers seem more likely to stick with the status quo and many keep using conventional marketing techniques even while they continue to lose money.

The problem with conventional restaurant marketing techniques is that they are getting more and more expensive while they are proving to be less and less effective.

Maybe a psychologist can explain why women are taking the lead in using unconventional restaurant techniques in the restaurant business. This seems odd because we know that men are usually more willing to take risks. But, my experience has always been that women have a tendency to trust their gut instincts and they often tend to be more imaginative in their approach to business.

Whatever the reasons, women seem to be the more aggressive gender when it comes to restaurant marketing; originality, imagination and a creative mind are urgently needed in this financial climate.

Here are some of the many unconventional marketing techniques women are now using:

• Women are using far less radio, TV and print advertising.
•  They are doing a much better job of capturing customer data such as names, addresses, birthdays, anniversaries and most important email addresses.
• Women are doing a lot of direct mail promotions and they are doing even more email promotions to their customer database.
• They are taking advantage of the power of press releases. Maybe they are more successful in this area because a great press release must strike an emotional button in the reader and we all know that women excel when it comes to tuning into emotions.
• Women know what their “Unique Selling Proposition” or “USP” is and they can clearly explain it in one to three sentences. They don’t try to be all things to all people when it comes to marketing their restaurant.
• They know the demographics of their customers. They do a better job of learning what it is that their customers like and dislike.
• Women do a much better job of negotiating and with these skills, they are able to buy advertising for 10% to 50% on the dollar. After all, every dollar saved on advertising and marketing (as long as the advertising brings in the same amount of business) goes straight to the bottom line as profit.
• They seem to write headlines that bring in two to 10 times more business for the same ad. They probably do this because they are able to do a better job of putting powerful emotion into their headlines.
• Women are using the power of the Internet to bring in customers and save up to 90% of the typical cost of bringing in a new or repeat customer.
• Finally, women do a better job of tracking marketing campaigns than men do. This fact alone provides them with the proof they need to drop conventional marketing techniques that are not working and expand the use of unconventional restaurant techniques that are working.

Author’s Note 1: I am a male and, while I can be somewhat chauvinistic at times, I recognize the abilities of women in business. I have had personal experience in working with women business owners and managers and can attest to their abilities as described in the above article.

Author’s Note 2: Points 2, 3, 6, and 9 above are all crucial to the success of many retail businesses, especially in this recession we are having. If you would like to learn more about how to implement these (collecting customer data, creating a mailing list of your customers, email, fax and postal campaigns to get repeat customer business) please email me at info @ cairnsbiz.com

Leslie

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In a previous post we cover two of the deadly sins of website design. Now we move on to some more vital things you need to know about website design.

Deadly Sin #3 – Building a flashy site that is too complicated for users to navigate.

Flash video is wonderful! People love it!

That is the ‘gospel’ that many website designers are ‘preaching.’ But flash graphics can be annoying, they can distract your visitors from their purpose in visiting your website – they are also byte intensive and, especially with dialup, can take far too long to load.

You can have one of the most beautiful websites in the world – an award winning masterpiece. But without the most important elements – the factors that inform, entertain and cause people to buy, your website will be just an attractive, expensive piece of junk.

People visit websites for three main purposes, to find information, to be entertained and/or to make a purchase. If your website does all three, you should have a winner. Once they have what they want – or realize that what they want is not there – they leave.

So design your web pages to load fast, provide what your audience or customers want, give them reasons to fill in a form to get more information or something of value that won’t cost them anything, and reasons to come back again.

Deadly Sin #4 – Using ‘bookish’ language

There are several types of English in common use.

1. There’s the formal legalistic and governmental type of language that tends to use long words, lengthy sentences and bulky paragraphs that run on and on….;
2. There’s the bookish type language used in writing books, articles and reports – usually stiff and formal….:
3. There’s the style we use to write letters to acquaintances and friends, and….;
4. There’s the spoken language we use every day – the vernacular style, colloquial speech that includes local idiomatic terms etc. What is often called the ‘lingua franca.’ This is the type of language we all use in our everyday conversation between friends.

When writing your copy for advertisements and for your website, you need to use the very same language that you use when speaking to your customers and your friends. It should be friendly, informal and relaxed.

People want information fast. They want to scan your site and see if you have what they are looking for. They do not want to waste time wading through a lot of drivel about who you are, how long you have been in business, what qualifications you have and a whole truckload of useless information that will only impress your friends. Again, people want the precise information they are seeking, and they want it fast.

Don’t make your web pages look like the pages of a book (close typed, border to border words that hide rather than reveal the information they want). Use plenty of white space, photos, bullet points for information, provide interesting and up-to-date information and vary the text size and colour to highlight the different subjects and sections of your pages.

Use bold headings to tell your visitors what they will find in the next paragraph or section.

Make your site interactive – ask questions, provide a survey, include a form to register for more information, updates, a newsletter etc. The more ‘fun’ your pages are, the longer people will stay and the more often they will visit.

If you would like to receive regular business tips on how to improve and grow your business, just fill in the short form to get a free subscription to our twice weekly newsletter.

Free Website Evaluation

If you already have a website for your business but would like a free evaluation please send your request to info @ cairnsbiz.com. We will acknowledge your request within 24 hours but it may take us up to 2 weeks to complete our evaluation and send you a report. This is because we are a small firm specializing in local business marketing and it may take us a while to get to your site. But be sure we will, and you will get an honest review with some free advice on how to improve it.

If you don’t already have a website for your business, you really should seriously investigate the benefits of having a website as well as the best way to get one. Web designers are currently offering web design for small business at prices starting around $497 up to $2,997 and well beyond (up to 5 figures for flash and all the other bells and whistles).

At what level should you enter?

Unless you want a fully eCommerce enabled website that is fully capable of high level interaction, online sales, delivery etc., then you need to start with a small website that solves all the 7 deadly sins while helping you improve your business profile and gets you new customers. Shop around, get quotes, but don’t shell out any money. When you have seen what is available locally, and the costs involved, contact us at  info @ cairnsbiz.com for information on how you can get a good website, free of charge – yes, a free website that you will be happy with.

Leslie

The final part of this three part article will be posted tomorrow

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Your Customers’ Loyalty

© 2011 – Leslie H Sprankling

 Customer loyalty is the single most important element to retain within a business relationship. What makes a customer loyal?

Discount pricing will get customers through your door. But that’s only the beginning.

What will keep them coming back? Customer Service!

Awesome, Exemplary Customer Service!

You may offer the best products available; you may offer the lowest prices imaginable, but if you don’t give impeccable customer service, they won’t come back.

Sure, there are people who buy by price alone, they will flit from store to store like butterflies, looking to save a few cents here, a few dollars there. These are the price hunters, they are loyal to pricing only.

But the majority of people will only stay loyal to you if you treat them well and give them the level of service they have a right to expect.

One of the advantages of maintaining a solid core of loyal customers is that they cost a lot less to maintain than it does to constantly advertise for new ones.

If your business has a quantifiable number of loyal customers, you have the distinct advantage of being able to allocate a significant portion of your promotion and advertising funds towards a program that will reinforce your level of customer service in natural and logical ways and which will itself encourage and foster growth in your loyal band of customers. It can, and does, foster and promote new loyal customers through its own actions and very existence. It will deliver constantly improving value and service which, in turn, will strengthen customer loyalty even more and generate more new customers through constant referrals from your existing highly satisfied and loyal customers.

This will further create the comfortable relationship between you and your customers that will encourage you to continue to successfully keep your customers both happy and loyal.

These pre-existing happy and satisfied customers often consciously or subconsciously talk to their friends and family encouraging these people to come to your business through their personal testimonies and enthusiasm.

How can you tell if a customer is loyal to you?

Well, firstly you need to know your customers and who they are. I was with a group of friends (there were 18 of us) at a restaurant quite recently. Some of us had been to the restaurant before and, during the meal the friendly proprietor asked the reason for our night out. We explained and said we were there because some of us knew the restaurant. He then welcomed us all and pointed out the ones he remembered as previous customers, including my wife and I who had been there twice before and some only once.

His prices are not cheap, but his service was excellent and everyone enjoyed the meal and the friendly interaction with him and his staff.

Most will return as customers because of the friendly service and attention which they will probably remember longer than the food they ate.

A friendly approach, frequent attention and an understanding of each customer’s preferences is essential to achieving customer loyalty.

Marshall Field, legendary department store owner of Chicago, Illinois, was passionate about customer service. Two of his famous quotes concerning customer service were, “The customer is always right,” and “Give the lady what she wants.” He well knew, as I do and probably you do to, that the customer is not always right. But, by treating a difficult or grumpy customer as being right and giving them what they want, will often turn that difficult one into a loyal friendly customer who will stay with you for years.

Loyal customers are a good barometer for the fiscal health of your business. If your business is thriving and consistently successful every day and every month, even in the bad times, the probability is that you have a large percentage of loyal customers. So, taking the time to focus on understanding the level of each customer’s loyalty is both practical and beneficial for the long term health of your business.

Getting feedback of the level of satisfaction from patronizing your business is easy. If you see the same people in your store or place of business on a regular basis; if they look and sound happy, and they are recommending your business to others, then you certainly have a band of loyal customers. If you don’t see this, if you are constantly battling to get new customers, then you need to look at the factors that comprise Awesome Customer Service.  Be proactive in talking to your customers in a friendly, but not intrusive, manner; be helpful in offering service and advice and, above all, try to get to know as many of your customers by name as you can. One storekeeper I know keeps a file card on every regular customer he has, with name, family’s names, address, some personal details such as birthdays etc and as much other info as he can glean, just from chatting to them. Every time he sees a strange face in his store, he approaches that person, introduces himself, welcomes them to his store, offers advice and assistance as may be needed, then  thanks them for visiting as they leave, whether they buy or not. He gets a lot of new loyal customers that way.

This article is just a sample introduction to the importance of Awesome Customer Service. In future articles we will cover in more detail how you can offer such impeccable customer service that your customers will stick to you like super glue.

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This is Part 1 of a three part article on Website Design for Small Business

Deadly Sin #1 –

Not having a local business, market savvy consultant handle your website design.

Don’t make the mistake of hiring a website design geek to do this for you. He/she may have all the skills to build you a fantastic looking website, but unless it draws visitors and converts them to customers, you have wasted your money and your time.

The same goes for the guy down the street who has just opened up his new business after doing a 6 month course on web design at the local TAFE. Again, he might have the technical skills but you need someone who understand the needs of local small to medium businesses and also understands marketing to local people.

Deadly Sin #2 –

Preventing Smart Phone users from accessing your site.

Do you have a smart phone? How about your family members? Friends? Customers?

This is a relatively new facet of website design and if you have a website now, or are planning to create one, you need to incorporate smart phone capability into your website now.

You see, mobile phone ownership in Australia is among the very highest in the world (second only to Singapore). There is an active mobile phone on an Australian network provider for every person in Australia. Some people have two, one for work, one for personal use. The latest statistics on smart phone ownership in Australia (Blackberry, Android, iPhone etc), show that more than 40% (43% at latest count) of the 22 million+ mobile phones currently in use are smart phones. That means there are over 9 million mobile phones currently active in Australia that can send and receive emails and can access the internet. Telstra forecasts that the number will rise to at least 13 million by the end of 2011.

What does that mean to you? At least 60% of your customers are within your reach wherever they are, 24/7/365. And the same numbers apply to all those people who are not your customers. And 60% of all the smart phone users are aged between 18 and 29 years old.

Apart from making calls, sending SMS, sending and reading emails, what are smart phone users doing with their phones and where?

Would you believe that 29% of smart phone users actually use their phones to access the internet while sitting on the toilet? Of course they also use them on public transport, whilst travelling in motor cars (hopefully not while driving), in bed, and while watching TV.

Here are some of the popular reasons why people are accessing the internet on their smart phones:

1. Looking for Weather info 64%
2. Looking for Maps 67%
3. Using Social Networking Website 56%
4. Looking for Products and services 50%
5. Checking Sports Results 46%
6. Looking for suppliers 45%
7. Downloading a Mobile App 42%
8. Using Satellite Navigation 40%
9. Downloading Video Content 35%

What does that this mean to you, and your business? If you don’t have a mobile friendly website, you are missing out on a lot of business, you are not picking up a lot of money that is sitting on the table with your name on it.

If you would like to receive regular business tips on how to improve and grow your business, just fill in the short form to get a free subscription to our twice weekly newsletter.

Free Website Evaluation

If you already have a website for your business but would like a free evaluation please send your request to info @ cairnsbiz.com. We will acknowledge your request within 24 hours but it may take us up to 2 weeks to complete our evaluation and send you a report. This is because we are a small firm specializing in local business marketing and it may take us a while to get to your site. But be sure we will, and you will get an honest review with some free advice on how to improve it.

If you don’t already have a website for your business, you really should seriously investigate the benefits of having a website as well as the best way to get one. Web designers are currently offering web design for small business at prices starting around $497 up to $2,997 and well beyond (up to 5 figures for flash and all the other bells and whistles).

At what level should you enter?

Unless you want a fully eCommerce enabled website that is fully capable of high level interaction, online sales, delivery etc., then you need to start with a small website that solves all the 7 deadly sins while helping you improve your business profile and gets you new customers. Shop around, get quotes, but don’t shell out any money. When you have seen what is available locally, and the costs involved, contact us at  info @ cairnsbiz.com for information on how you can get a good website, free of charge – yes, a free website that you will be happy with.

Leslie

Part 2 of this informative article will be posted tomorrow.  If you would like to make a comment or ask a question please do so in the comment box below or email us privately at info @ cairnsbiz.com.

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Little White Business Lies
Little white lies are falsities we tell people (and often tell ourselves) that we believe to be benign, harmless. But there are little white business lies we tell ourselves all the time that may be hurting our business. We will be covering a number of these little white lies from time to time – here is the first in the series:

Little White Business Lie #1
On a topical note, Muammar Gaddafi, the late Libyan president constantly maintained, “My people love me.” Was he telling himself, and the Libyan people, a big white lie? It seems quite plain that he was!

Are you telling yourself, “Our customers love us!?”

Don’t fall for this one, it’s especially dangerous. When you begin to believe that your customers need, want and love your business more than your business needs, wants and shows that it (you) loves your customers, you’re in trouble. You’re just a hop, skip and a jump from complacency, neglect or even the condescending disdain that will reveal just how fragile that customer relationship was (and I mean was).

By nearly every measure there is, you cannot support the claim that your customers love you. To understand why, you have to know what characterizes true love:

Love is unselfish and patient. It is slow to take offense and overlooks shortcomings. Love puts the interests of the object of its love ahead of its own interests. Those who love are almost unconditionally faithful to the object of their affection.

If this describes your customers, I want to know where you live and I want to know how I can get me some!

The truth is, customers are self-centered!

They are in their relationship with you for what they are getting out of it. (And why shouldn’t they be?) They are likely to take offense and notice shortcomings. If their interests change, they will go elsewhere.

And they are fickle!

Most are more than open to the possibility of being wooed by another offer and many welcome any opportunity to experience something new. (Don’t take my word for it, ask the good people in the quiet offices over at MySpace.) It’s as if they’re sitting the proverbial bar, made up and looking hot, just waiting for someone to buy them a drink.

There is a way to get customer love, but it’s going to cost you.

Why?

Your customers are never going to put more into the relationship than you do.

Imagine a still pool of water providing a reflection. The reflection on the water may be a fair image of the original, but the original is still by far the strongest, clearest side. Like it or not, the “love” bestowed on your business by your patrons is a direct reflection of your dedication to, engagement with, and interest in, them. The love you show for the customer is the original, their response is the reflection. Just as with the clear pool of water, the reflection is never going to be stronger than the original!

You’ll never get more than you invest and your customers will never love you more than you truly love them (at least not for long).

Just as in other relationships, there are some ways to gain and nurture mutual affection:
• Remember the fickle nature of the customer’s love and stay on top of your game.
• Deliver great customer experiences, every time.
• Be intriguing, engaging and provocative.
• Keep your eyes and ears open for signs of discontent.
• Communicate, proactively. Solicit feedback.
• Listen. No, I mean really listen.
• Respond to customer’s complaints, wants and needs.
• Be open to change. Ask how you can change. When your customer tells you you need to change, by all means, change!
• Get help from professionals when you need it.
And maybe most importantly:
establish emotional connections – give people reasons to love you.

Tell the story of your business. Tell people why you’re passionate about ‘what you do.’ Talk about your family history and other connections to the community. Tell customers about the good that your business does in the lives of community members and employees. Educate the public about the ways in which your business benefits the local economy, local charities, schools, the arts and other organizations. Align yourself with a local cause and give back.

It’s never about you, it’s always about them. Don’t fall for the lie that your customers love you, or that they need you even nearly as much as you need them. Instead, stay focused on providing benefits and value to your customers, and focus your marketing on telling customers about how doing business with you makes their lives better.

Leslie H Sprankling 2011

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