To grow your business, retain your first, second, and all customers

When successful entrepreneurs share their memoirs, they do so with loads of passion.

Many will often talk about their first customer, the one who trusted them to get the job done without the need for a reference check.

This storyline is quite similar to that of the first job. However, I am yet to meet someone with their first payslip’s keepsake.

At an office I recently visited, hanging neatly on the wall was a copy of the first cheque ever made to the business, well-framed. “Without this first customer, we would not be where we are today,” remarked the business owner.

I often interact with business students, many of whom ponder how to grow their purported businesses way before they start them. Many wonder about financing but most do not bother to query how they will attract and retain customers. My advice is simple: “A business grows one customer at a time. Get your first, second, third customer and keep going.”

Acquiring the first customer is never that easy and retaining customers too takes effort. One may get their first customer but by the time they get their third one, the first two have left, leaving only one customer. Today, I share with budding entrepreneurs three business tips on growing your business, one customer at a time.

Know thy customer. Knowing your customer is not just about knowing their name. It is about knowing what they need. It is about getting insights into their past experiences. It is about knowing what your product or service is going to do for them. It is about knowing what they expect. With this knowledge, it becomes not only easy to attract a customer but also to retain the first, second, and third customers.

Calling customers by name is also essential. It makes them feel important. “Thank you, Mr Ochieng. We are so glad to have you as our customer at our garage.”

Many entrepreneurs spend so much time getting to know their competition that they forget to know their customers.

Keep the promise. Promising what one cannot deliver is a major cause of customer dissatisfaction. In addition it makes many customers take off as soon as they land.

The best way to build trust and hold on to our customers is to keep our promises. Keeping the promise includes not only delivering the product or service quality promised and within the promised timelines, but also simple basics such as calling back when we say we will.

Ask for feedback. My first customer as a consultant six years ago is still my customer today. In fact, I chair the firm’s advisory board.

When I look back, feedback sessions that I introduced early in my consultancy career were instrumental in holding on to my customers at the early stages and even today.

“How are we doing?” is one key question that every entrepreneur must not only ask but act on. Too much effort is wasted by looking for new customers to replace those that have left. To grow your business one customer at a time, hold on to your first, second, third customers.

Lucy Kiruthu is a management consultant and can be reached on [email protected]