How to increase customer loyalty

What secrets or tips do you have for increasing customer loyalty? -Thomas

Thomas, by "customer loyalty" do you mean "repeat business?" -Skip Anderson

Not just repeat business but prospects sticking with you instead of jumping around from agent to agent when they're shopping around. -Thomas

I think building customer loyalty is a matter of becoming a resource for you customer.

During discussions with my customers they tell me about needs and concerns and I often will tell them where they can find items they need that I don't provide.

Not so much in my current position but in past positions I have told customers where they can buy items I sell for less. For example, a customer who bought over $10000 worth of equipment from me needed to buy a couple wheelchairs.

At the time I sold carts and was the automatic go to person for carts. I told the customer where they could buy the wheelchairs for much less because I didn't want them to find out later that they my price was way above the market price on wheelchairs. If they had then they might start thinking that my cart price is out of line also and I didn't want them to shop around with my competitors.

I found that this helped me get the first call for items I already sell to customers and for new opportunities as well. In addition, they kept buying from me even if I was a higher price because I was a resource for them.




Good Selling!! -Sell4alivn

OBLIGATION - however you want to develop it. thmbp2; -Seth

I noticed while selling shoes that the best way to gain clients was to be friendly, patient, and know/find out EXACTLY what the customer wants/needs.

Be genuine and listen to what your clients want or need, then figure out how to give them everything and then some. They'll stay by your side forever if you go that extra mile and really show you care! -ginac84

I wish that was the case with our clients. A couple of weeks ago I worked with two sets of buyers and everything was clipping along beautifully. Unfortunately they kept shopping after our meeting and wound up buying homes in a different community. -Thomas

Thomas, one thing is for certain: They continued shopping for a reason. There was some need that was unmet so they set out to get it satisfied. Identify what that need was and you'll have an idea of how to prevent it the next time! -Skip Anderson

I wish I could identify that need. I think people just like to keep looking around to see all of their options. How do I stop that? What should I say? -Thomas

Thomas,

(1) Shoppers to like to keep looking around.

(2) Status Quo Paralysis grips many shoppers. Even when they need something and know it, the status quo can have a grip on their buying actions. The solution is to build sales momentum. Everything in the sales interaction should be designed to build momentum. Many salespeople have "random customer service" interactions instead of "focused sales interactions" with their prospects.

(3) All people buy for a reason: to meet needs. If the salesperson fully understands the prospect's needs (both the over arching needs which I call Macro Needs, and the needs of the moment I call Micro Needs), he is more likely to show his prospect how his product can meet those needs.

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A few suggestions for questions to build sales momentum:

1. "What have you looked at out there in the marketplace that you've liked or not liked?"

2. "That's great you found something you liked. So I can understand your situations, would you please tell me why you didn't go ahead and purchase it?"

3. "What are you looking for in a widget?" (prospect answers). "If I can find a widget that does those things, how would you feel about purchasing my widget?"

4. "Why are you looking for a widget today instead of last year, or next year?"

5. "On a scale of 1 to 10, with ten being the highest, how well would you say this widget meets your needs? (customer says "7"). Describe what changes we would have to make to this widget to make it a '10'".

6. "If we find a widget that you love, and the price is acceptable to you, when would you want to take possession of your new widget?"

7. "Based upon what you told me, I'm going to show you a widget. All you need to do is give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down. The only thing I ask is that if you give it a thumbs down, you tell me why...is that fair?"

8. "When shopping for a widget, every customer has a list of 'musts'. What is on your lists of 'musts'?"

9. "So you've been looking for a widget for six months. How come you haven't purchased one yet? Is it the money or is it something else?"

10. "Should we write it up?" (I recently spend 2.5 weeks with a client company doing ride-alongs with their salespeople on actual sales appointments. In only one interaction of the 20 did the salesperson actually ask the prospect to buy).

Thomas, I don't fully understand your situation, so I don't know how well the suggestions above fit it. It's a given that the questions above may not fit your situation exactly, but I'm just trying to give you some ideas to work with.

If you use questions like these, and you have a high degree of likability and helpfulness during your questioning, you should be able to get to the bottom of what your prospects need. -Skip Anderson

Continual support!

I'm not sure what business you are in, but this is my procedure to give me the best chance is retaining my customers after they've committed to me;

1. Reminder call, prior to getting their cable television connected I'll phone or text the client to remind them about their upcoming installation the next day (aka do this the day before their due connection date). This is to eliminate any last minute cancels and gives me 1 extra shot at keeping them in case they get cold feet.

2. Follow up call, after installation I call or text to see how they are going with their service. With any new product, the customer always has a positive attitude and appreciative about the follow up. This is to show my commitment on continual support, weed out and problems that may have occurred during install and keep my name fresh in their mind when associating the product to their friends.

3. Check up and referral, a week after install again another call or text to see how everything is going, to offer any further support or queries and then drop our referrer scheme. This is to offer our referrer deal and to keep my name and shop location still in a positive light with the customer. -MrCharisma

Thank you to everyone who answered. I appreciate the help! -Thomas

Be part of the vision process, help the customer identify and clarify a solution - even if you don't provide that solution. When you do this you'll increased customer loyalty. -Bulldog

I work at a grocery store and have some really loyal customers we see everyday. The prices in the store are not the best in the area and considering we have a Monster grocery store right next to ours that starts with wal and ends with mart...we still maintain our customers coming in everyday.

I have seen that learning names is a BIG BIG step. If you see this person a lot, you better know that persons name! this is kinda hard for me seein how i am a faces/not names kinda person.

Before i start throwing products in the customers face i have a talk about their day and show concern for the customer and what needs they may have and when they least expect it the suggestive selling starts to come out and theyre pickin stuff off the shelf that they think they need. I find that if the customer puts up this "i will not buy anything i dont need or want" shield if they even get the hint that youre being the annoying salesman.

I guess as simple as it is...everyone is lookin for a buddy where they go spend their money...someone that will help them make choices on how to spend it and knows the secrets of the business and LOOKS like he/she knows what thyre talkin about at least hehe. This seems to work for me!

Antthmbp2; -GasStationBoy

Under promise and over deliver.
Develop a great Monthly Newsletter.
Visit often.
Remember Birthdays.
Take them to lunch.
Conduct quarterly account reviews with them.
Act with their best interest in mind.
Mail handwritten "Thank You" notes.
Let them know how much you appreciate their business.
Nick Moreno
National Sales Center -Sales Training Coach

That's simple,Thomas: Create an EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

To me, that is the ONLY answer to that question. If you're not sure how to do it, do a little reading on Nordstrom. You'll find it very inspiring. -Rainmaker

Incidentally, this is also the ONLY way to get referrals--which come from customer loyalty. -Rainmaker