Customer Retention is the Key to to a Profitable Business
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“Appreciation Marketing” with SendOutCards makes it simple for you AND your customers to build thriving businesses
Everyone in business needs a way to keep in touch with their customers. That means your custom greeting card business is perfect for all of them.
More customers desert businesses because they don’t feel appreciated than from dissatisfaction with products or service. Don’t let this happen to you.
“Appreciation Marketing” – letting customers know that you appreciate them by sending them cards or gifts – prevents this. Appreciation is the glue that holds your business together, the personal touch that sets you apart from the competition. It’s not new…but it’s still not that common.
Take a look at these statistics:
- Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than satisfying and retaining a current customer
- A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10%
- The average company loses 10% of its customers each year
- A 5% reduction in customer defection rate can increase profits by 25-125%, depending on the industry
Customer retention and satisfaction drive your profits and are critical to your success.
Since the customer profitability rate tends to increase over the life of a retained customer, it simply makes good sense to use Appreciation Marketing to keep in touch with your current and past clients. You build a base of loyal customers, who keep coming back to you (instead of running to your competition). On top of that, they send you great referrals.
How do YOU feel when you’re appreciated?
Think about it. How do YOU feel when a business you buy from shows how much they appreciate you and your business? But…when was the last time you received a real thank you note in your mailbox? The problem is that it happens rarely. Most businesses are chasing the next new client instead of taking care of those who already know them. True appreciation is a lost art.
The sad truth is that if you don’t give your customers good reasons to stay, your competition will give them reasons to leave you.
When you sincerely appreciate your customers, you have chance to shine and to stand out in their minds so that your business thrives.
The SendOutCards system
It may seem like a chore to keep in touch with customers. But with SendOutCards your Appreciation Marketing campaigns can be:
Automatic – by having a regular system in place that operates whether you’re at work or at the beach. Our Card Sending Program makes it easy. Everything is handled online, seamlessly. You log on, select a card, select a customer (or multiple customers) from your data base and, with a click, the SendOutCards system prints your card with your handwriting font, stuffs it in an envelope, seals it, stamps it (with a real stamp!) and mails it out. And another customer is happy to hear from you!
Spontaneous – by being open, listening, and in tune to people. On the spur of the moment, you can do something special and unexpected for some of your best customers. Send them a small gift through your “online gift store”. Let them know you appreciate them.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
All of us, myself included, take our customers for granted. As a result, we get so focused on doing our work, that we don’t take enough time out to meet with, talk to, and more importantly, listen to, our customers. Stay in touch. Ask them what they need and want. Be part of their lives and businesses; invite them to be part of yours.
Whether you call it account management, relationship management, or simply staying in touch, it’s critical to develop a customer-retention plan so you don’t lose customers you have. It’s vital to the success of any business –and more so in the current economic climate.
Past customers are most likely to be future purchasers. After all they already know you and have experienced your product or service. So why not develop a customer-retention plan to keep them coming back?
Sending out gifts and cards can make a huge difference to your customers and how they perceive you and your company. Keep in mind that it doesn’t need to be costly, time-consuming or difficult. All it takes are a few simple steps. The key is to always make it a priority.
Where do you begin?
Here are several tips to help you get started.
- Send a thank you note in the mail after a sale or a meeting.
. - Send a thank you gift when someone sends you a referral.
. - Send items of value on a regular, planned basis. These should not relate to your product or business. They can range from useful, simple tips on about almost anything that’s of interest to your customers, to coupons, or informative articles. It could be a recommendation to a great business or service.
. - Send birthday cards to your customers and contacts. That will really make their day and set you apart!
Keep track of your customers and when you contacted them
This is easy through your online contact manager at your Custom Card Business Website. You can even set up reminders to alert you when to contact them again…so your communication with them continues.
This system is perfect for any busy business person who wants to keep in touch with customers so that they keep coming back.