How much time and money do you spend trying to get new customers? How much time and money do you spend keeping your existing customers? Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds was quoted as saying “It is much more profitable to sell multiple products to one customer than to sell just one product to many customers.”

You can interpret that statement two ways: 1. When you have a customer in your business establishment, try to sell them more than one product or service; 2. Once you have a new customer in your business establishment, do everything you can to give them a WOW experience, so they will come back, time and time again.

Understand that the “cheapest price in town” may not be the determining factor to customers frequenting your business. Therefore, by RETAINING YOUR CLIENT, you increase sales while reducing your advertising and marketing budget thereby improving your bottom line.

The following list contains some simple to understand and easy to implement suggestions that successful business owners teach their management team and employees.

• Provide EXCELLENT, not good, customer service. Your competition is good, and you must be better if you want repeat business.

• Know your clients and treat them like your friends. BFE (Best Friend Ever).

• Keep your clients informed with updates of information they may need or want. It’s easy to do with today’s technology.

• Be a good listener. Get to know your customer’s needs by closing your mouth and opening your ears. You will be surprised at what you will learn when you stop talking and start listening.

• Educate and inform your clients about the benefits of your products and services. A confused mind says NO. So, give them the knowledge they need to make an educated decision to buy.

• Be a specialist in what you do, be the best, be better than your competition.

• Exceed your client’s expectations. Provide a clean, organized establishment with a well-trained and knowledgeable staff, state of the art products and services, fair and reasonable prices and a fun experience.

• Know your competition — what they do and what they don’t do. Never bad mouth the competition but understand that they may want your client more than you do. Be better than them.

• Stay in touch with your clients, your competition will if you don’t.

• Be the leader in your industry, be innovative, be aggressively hospitable, and be out in the public.

By the way, when you have loyal customers, they love telling their friends about the wonderful experience they had, and the referral process starts. One happy customer becomes two, two become four — you know how that works.

Growing your business from within is easy, fun and the best way to positively improve your bottom line. I am not saying that you should stop your advertising and marketing program, just compliment it with a great CUSTOMER RETENTION PROGRAM. You will definitely see the difference.

Gary Seibert can be reached at gary@core8training.com.