The success of a business has never been a function of how beautiful its products look or how unique it appears. To remain in business profitably and do so for long, customers’ patronage must be gained and sustained. A startup must have a clear strategy of how it intends to build, not just a band of regular customers, but also a cult of loyal customers.
As it happens, there are several tips to achieve just that and this post will be sharing it with you. Below are some useful tips.
Good Marketing Strategy
Every startup must have a strategic marketing system that will help it reach out to customers more effectively. And every startup can now leverage on the power of internet to promote their business at a very low cost.
Create a ‘Wow’ Experience
Out-performing customers’ expectations is no longer an option but a necessity because it is a sure way to retain customers. Customize customer needs and deliver on those needs ‘all the time and not sometimes’. The WOW experience is that magic factor which keeps a buyer loyal to your brand for a long time.
Help Them Complain
Most times, dissatisfied customers can just walk away and never come back. A startup must develop a system that help customers anonymously complain and express their dissatisfaction. Also, the system must encourage them to say what the business is doing well.
When these insights are gained, management should stop at nothing to reverse the bad experiences and maintain the good ones.
Integrity
Never compromise on the quality of your product. Be the ‘go-to place’ for quality solutions in your market space. Go out of your way to make quality solutions available to your clients at a reasonable price.
Simple Things are not so Simple
Show your customers that you care. Simple things such as sending thank you cards, VIP experience for older customers, premium buying and the likes are some of the interesting ways of winning customers’ hearts for life. People are looking for care in one way or another and will always remain loyal to that person or business who gives it often.
Differentiate
Proper branding and differentiation is one sure way to stay relevant in today’s market place. You must separate yourself from the crowd and make it easy for your customers to recognize you each time. All great businesses have mastered this and have used it consistent to stay obvious in the market place.
Create Partnerships with Your Customers
Today’s business is about partnership. For Every business, customer relationship must be an intentional way of partnering for excellence. You must find ways to make your customers have a stake in your business success. For example, each customer can get a discount for referrals on his account, customers who visits with their friends or families can get some sort of recognition while the his company is properly marketed for possible future return.
Strong business-customer partnership goes a long way to promote repeat patronage. And this must be the everlasting target of every start up.
Respect
Respecting your customers doesn’t end in simple courtesies anymore. You must respect their time. Time is the 21st century currency and any customer whose time is wasted for trying to spend his money quickly finds the exit door.
As a startup, it is easy to get caught up in other things and forget that what is most important in business is to get buyers coming back and keep the cash flowing.
But this doesn’t have to be as these simple tips shared in this article can go a long way to keep the buyers happy and paying.
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