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Recently, two well-established and well-known home improvement businesses, Home Depot and Lowe’s, reported an astonishing fact to the media: if they were to provide better customer service, they would see more profit. Both companies are billion-dollar companies as it stands, but some studies indicated that they would see an extra 50% profit every year if they appealed to their customers on a more personal level. This study follows many other studies that all seem to point to the fact that better customer service means more money and success.
Most small business owners know this, and cater to their clients individually. Still, not all customers are created equal. It’s just a fact of starting a company – not every single person that approaches you to do business will mesh well with your company, and that’s okay. It just means you need to identify – and work to keep – those who do work well with your company.
See the two following areas you need to consider when looking for your most valuable clients:
Those Who Refer Business to Your Company
Not only are those who refer more business to your company important because they bring you more revenue, but because they are also obviously loyal customers. Someone who is willing to advertise for you can be a powerful endorsement of the quality of your company. The Internet has also brought the age of reviews, posts, and tweets. When individuals are willing to say positive things about your company because they love what you do, use them to your advantage. They are a powerful asset that you didn’t have to pay for.
Customers Who Have Stuck with You
Many, many companies are too busy bringing in new business to notice who is leaving out the backdoor in the meantime. To put it bluntly, it’s cheaper to keep existing customers that have been with your company for a while then to bring more customers in. A customer that has stuck with you for a long time is more profitable than the customer who joined yesterday. Also, those who stick with your company a long time are more apt to purchase additional services and will often bring referrals, too.
