It is a challenging time for most business leaders today. Leaders demand growth from their business, and therefore marketers continually focus on getting their products and services into the hands of new customers. Unfortunately, this intense focus on attracting new customers has diverted attention away from established or former customers. It is considerably more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing customer. So why do so many companies focus their efforts and money solely on new customers? It is because every organization is committed to growth and growth is associated with creating new business. However, to maintain continued profitability, companies must establish and maintain profitable relationships with all of their customers (past, current, and future). Business leaders must do four things to have profitable customer relationships.

1. You must be continually attracting new (profitable) customers in the industry sectors you have identified in your strategic plan.
2. You must actively retain your current (profitable) customers and re-establish relationships with previous customers.
3. You must personalize your product and service offerings to best meet your customers’ expectations and needs.
4. Your employees should be continually trained and rewarded for providing exceptional customer service.

New Customers: The industry sectors you have identified for growth in your strategic plan should be implemented throughout your company. Your sales team should have your commission structure designed to reflect (and reward) closed sales in the industries you’ve committed to following. When you market and sell in your new market, you need to make sure that the products and services you offer are profitable. In other words, you should conduct a customer profitability analysis at the beginning of the sale and periodically throughout the sales cycle. Too many companies focus their marketing dollars on their customers, who are the biggest revenue generator. Remember that profit is revenue minus costs, so you need to make sure that all of your customer relationships produce the results you initially projected.

Current and Past Clients: You have worked hard to attract new clients to your business and you know that you need to continue working to establish and strengthen the relationship you created. The more she knows about her customer’s organization, their buying habits and patterns, their growth plans, and their operations, the more successful she will be in designing her relationship programs to meet their needs. The goal is to be so familiar and indispensable to your customers that your company is the only one they consider when purchasing products and services.

Many companies offer special prices, bundle deals or incentives to attract new customers, while completely ignoring their current customers. If you want to prevent your customers from switching to your competitors (to take advantage of your “new customer discounts”), you need to create loyalty (recognition/appreciation) programs and referral discounts and/or incentives. If you value your customers, reward them for their continued trust in your company’s products and services. You might also consider instituting a “frequent user” program. The more business a customer does with your company, the more they can receive a discount on future work (or purchases) or free service.

Communicate with your customers on a regular basis to provide useful information such as case studies, success stories, testimonials, and new product or service launches. Invite your customers to give you feedback on their needs/wants. The more inclusive you are with your customers, the more they will value the relationship with your company.

Customize your programs. Technology has offered us a myriad of communication vehicles to reach our target audience. Technology is a tool to support customer service, not to replace it. Always offer your customers the option to speak to a human. I know that having trained customer service specialists can add costs to the bottom line, but think about how much business you lose by not having someone available to visit your customers when they need help, have questions, or have a complaint that needs to be resolved. .

To exceed your customers’ expectations, you must use your technology and marketing skills to personalize your relationship with each customer. Make sure your CRM (customer relationship manager) programs are integrated with your customer contact programs and you’re working with your customers to understand how and when they want to be contacted. The more you know about your individual customers and can customize your sales and marketing program to meet their needs, the stronger your customer relationships will be.

Social media continues to revolutionize the way we do business. Anyone can quickly research your company to discover your company’s customer satisfaction record. Your company’s reputation is one of your organization’s most valuable assets, so be sure to do everything you can to maintain excellent customer relationships and continually build a strong reputation for your company.

Employees: People treat people as they are treated. To provide exceptional customer service—a mandatory requirement for all employees in your organization—you need to ensure that your organization’s core values ​​specifically address your commitment to your customers and your employees. Customer and employee satisfaction are intertwined and business leaders must recognize and reward employees for the value they continually add to the organization. When things go wrong, your employees need the training and resources to turn your dissatisfied customers into happy, satisfied, repeat customers. Make sure you have a resolution ladder, so dissatisfied customers can immediately connect with someone who has the authority to resolve their issue.

For your business to create and maintain long-term profitability, you must continually develop and improve your customer relationships. Treat your customers like the valuable assets they are. Periodically conduct customer profitability analysis and use your technology to customize your products and services to meet the needs of your individual customers and watch your business growth skyrocket.