Simple tips for building and keeping a loyal customer base

I AM just stating the obvious here.

For your business to be a success, you need many loyal customers who spend on a regular basis.
In order to achieve this, you must supply them with what they want and get everything right in your business.

To know how do this, you will need to ask yourself a few questions and acknowledge that your customer means money and, therefore, success.

Without your customers, you have no money, profits, success, or business.

This essentially makes the customer the king and the single most important thing in your investment, big or small.

So, in the real sense, the customer is more important than you, your products, and your business.

This is because if your customer does not like you, your products, or your business, then you do not have a business, money, or success.

If your customer is not happy, you are the ultimate loser.

For your success, you need your customer to buy more than one product.

REPEAT PURCHASES

Even if the customer is already purchasing one product line from you regularly, you need to keep increasing the revenue per customer by ensuring that the buyer comes back for repeat purchases.

To understand this better, let us look at how we use the mobile phone today.

While it all began as a way of making calls, there is SMS, data, mobile money, premium SMS, and many more services.

This means that the telcoms are always adding their services portfolio so that they can increase the average revenue per user.

Do the same, always look out for complimentary goods or related needs that you can satisfy to increase the amount of money your customer can spend in your business regularly.

Are you one of those businesses that is proud of one major customer?

While this may be making you all the money and you are happy about it, a simple change by that customer can mean the death of your business.

You need many loyal customers who keep buying from you.

This is the only sure way to provide enough money to your business sustainably.

Make sure a plan to acquire many loyal customers is one of the items you have in your business plan.

For your business success, you need a sufficient number of loyal customers who keep coming back, each one spending enough or your target revenue per buyer every month or whatever period you wish to use.

WILLING TO PAY
This is a basic fundamental for every business and should be at the heart of every successful business model.

In order to achieve this, your products must be what the customer wants.

The products must give the customers the benefits they seek.

Your customer service must be what satisfies them.

And, finally, the price of the products must be what the customers are willing to pay.

This means getting everything right while your customer is right at the centre of it.

A customer-centric attitude in all your planning, product design, and plan execution is crucial.

Think of your customer in everything you do. Whether you are introducing a change of product or premises, always ask yourself: Is this right for my customer?

The customer is the most important part of your business.

If everything is going on right for your customer, they will keep buying from you.

Business is the business of acquiring customers and keeping them. That is how it works!

The author is the CEO/founder of Openworld Ltd Email: [email protected]

@DorcasMuthoni