Existing Customers 101: Part 1

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When people think of growing their business, they often get excited about new products or reaching a new target market. In addition, there's often a flurry of new projects or spending. 

Looking after the customers you already have is often much more economic and rewarding though. It can pay off dividends in areas such as;

- increasing average spend
- decreasing amount of time between customers' visits
- increasing new clients through referrals
- increasing staff morale through strengthening relationships and getting a high from being appreciated,
- plus, of course, it builds up that bank of loyalty that allows you a buffer in the future if you have to move an appointment, are too busy to serve them in a respectable time, or they have a less than average experience.

Start by working out which of these benefits specifically fit your current business goal (I'm guessing it's a high chance that you choose referrals or increasing average spend). By being clear about what you want to achieve, you can start being a bit selective about which existing customers you want to reward.

For example, if you want referrals, my suggestion is that you list which customers are your talkers. You know the sort because they've told you about their pets, their hairdresser, their kid's teacher, etc, and only stopped because you managed to palm the conversation onto another customer. Clearly, if you can do something notable for these clients, they'll probably have told 50 people by lunchtime. Note: Extend this principle to online talkers: stalk which of your customers have the most followers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

Similarly, if you want to increase average spend, do your homework and research which customers you believe are worthwhile targeting. If you've got a program that allows you to see average spend patterns, play with the data to spot trends. Are there examples of customers who suddenly started spending more? Was it after a particular event like learning about a new product or dealing with a different staff member? If you sell big ticket items, after how many visits do your customers commit? Also, it's worth spotting which customers spend a similar amount each visit whilst others vary enormously.

* This is how I feel when I reward existing customers. He's available here if you've got a mad urge to own a gold-plated Lego man by the by.