Every successful company spends untold dollars on marketing and sales force development, commissions and product delivery. Customer acquisition costs can sky rocket if not kept in check. These are soft costs that often erode profit margins. Take a close look at the investments you’re making towards customer acquisition. Commit to redirecting some of that funding towards a second critical component of company growth – client retention. If there’s a hole in your client acquisition bucket, focusing efforts on client retention is money and time well spent.
Once a company has identified and qualified a prospective client, conducted the necessary research on their needs, presented options and closed the deal, most sales executives move on to prepare for the next sale. While that is the foundation of the sales cycle, energy must be directed towards maintaining these new clients. Follow these recommendations from the professional client retention consultants to ensure you’ve plugged the hole in your client bucket.
Connect with clients throughout the product delivery process. Connect with clients again throughout the year just to let them know you’re touching base and to confirm that you’re company’s products and services are meeting their needs. This is also an opportunity to uncover potential new needs and market vertically to these existing clients. Not every communication with the client should be regarding new sales opportunities, product delivery or problem solving. Consider taking advantage of the awesome savings offered by Groupon coupons and have a great Thank You basket delivered to your client from the terrific selection available at Harry and David. Your client will be pleasantly surprised and will definitely feel appreciated and valued.
Spread this concept through-out your organization: client retention is as important a component of the sales process as client acquisition. Keep a sharp eye on client acquisition costs and ensure that these include client retention expenditures and you’ll be on your way to a steady growth in your client base.