Home based professionals know that when it comes to keeping their small businesses on the path to success, customer satisfaction can be a deciding factor as to whether or not a home-based business (or any business, for that matter) will continue to thrive. While attracting a stream of new customers to your business is certainly important, focusing on the needs of present customers in such a way that keeps them coming back again and again is absolutely essential for success. Repeat business and happy customers that tell their friends to buy your products or use your services can create more income for your business than all of the other one-time customers combined.
How, then, do you encourage repeat business from your customers? Doing great work will go a long way towards impressing your clients, but there are other things that you can do to encourage them to do business with you again and again. One thing that you can do is to build a reputation as an expert in what you do. Building the reputation of an expert is not as hard as it may seem. Writing blogs and ebooks are great ways to show your knowledge of the business that you are in, as are white papers and other informational publications. Even if the information in the things that you write is not useful to a customer at this very moment in time, he or she may remember that they read an article by you on that topic later on when it becomes pertinent to them.
Rewarding loyalty is another way to keep those customers coming back for more. Depending upon what business you are in, rewarding loyalty can take many different forms. Coupons for discounts, free samples of products or of information, free consultations, are just a few things that you could do. Think about your business and then get creative while choosing something that will be of value to your particular customers that will make them feel appreciated.
Of course, no informational piece about building customer loyalty would be complete without a mention of the most basic yet all too frequently overlooked way in which customer loyalty is created. Providing excellent customer service to your clients in good times and in bad lets them know that they can count on you no matter what. If you get in the habit of providing excellent customer service, you just might be surprised when a little while down the road, someone who had a major issue with your product or service comes back to do business with you again. Why, you ask, would they return to me when I screwed up so badly the first time? The answer lies in how you handled their complaint or concern. If you listened attentively and offered a prompt and meaningful solution to their problem, you have not only solved their immediate concern, you have earned their trust.
Photo by danielito on morguefile.com.