Why is my client base like a revolving door?

It's a question often asked by business owners when they take a look at how many new clients they have brought on board and yet how few remain. Many first time business owners and smaller shops are seeing this trend and trying to work out why. They're in-shop service is great, people are buying, but why are they only buying once? Enter the solution; Relationship Marketing.

As much as these business owners focus on customer service pre-sale, they often fail to realize that true customer service happens before the sale, during, after and even if there is no sale. Connecting with their client base in a way that builds loyalty and trust. Too often, owners make the mistake of believing that their customer loyalty is built on how great their product is. In the 1950's, you would be right. Times change and so do the needs of the consumer and business owner.

Relationship marketing changed the way in which we view our buyer / seller interaction. The focus of the sales team was no longer solely on moving product and gaining new clients, but on satisfying the customer. The pitch had to change as well. “Ours versus Their's” wasn't cutting it anymore, brand loyalty wasn't inherited from generation to generation, the focus had to shift. Previously, it was a given that once a person or family began using your product or service, they always would. All your salespeople had to do was acquire new clients. Direct marketing was the key. And then there was a fundamental move by the consumers. Customers started shopping around. The Value Proposition sales pitch was what was needed.

Client retention was the new game. This shift happened in the 1960's and continues into today's marketplace. And yet so few businesses and sales teams take note of it. Sales people are focused on the sale, where their commission is. Customer service representatives are focused on satisfying the client that has purchased, that's where their bonus' come from. How then, can the right messages be given to the right groups? How can these two teams work together? How do businesses keep the balance? How do you focus on retention without losing focus on acquisition? The answer is simple, the four T's; Tactics, Tools, Training and Tenacity.

Tactics; Designing and following a strategic plan laid out for your various teams. Sales people have to perform excellent customer service. Customer service reps have to be able to re-sell or up-sell into the base. And best of all, those groups need to coordinate to get the most from their efforts.

Tools; Equip your teams with the proper tools. CRM(Client Relationship Manager) software is the perfect first step. Having an open database where everyone can input new data and read previously written data on a client is the key to said coordination. Add onto that one of the most useful and hated tools, the script. Sales people hate them, CSR's despise them, but they work. Uniformity is essential to keeping everyone talking to the clients similarly.

Training; Gathering your tools, your tactics and training your staff how to use them effectively to accomplish the goal. Training is an ongoing process, constantly updating the knowledge of your staff is the fastest way to slow down that revolving door.

Tenacity; The last part of this equation, and the most important. Being persistent in training your staff and getting them to adapt to the new tools and tactics. Once you have them working the new plan, get them being tenacious in their pursuit of the retained, satisfied customer. Get them emotionally involved in the long-term well being of your client base, and they'll go after it's growth even harder.

Once you have your staff working the new plan it's only a matter of time before you start to notice the door slowing. Keep the plan, keep working on it as much as you're working with it and the better ratio will follow.

Best of luck in your business as we hit the midway point of Q1. Here's to bigger and better sales every day.

Getting the year started.

January 2009. First post of the year and first post for the new Mnemonic Marketing blog. As the title states, we're getting our year started. At this point most business owners are taking stock of the post Holiday successes, settling last year's issues, finalizing their 2009 returns and preparing to start Q2 with a fresh face.

A favourite topic of conversation between myself and a few colleagues is the sacrificing of Q1. Often done with little more thought than "this is how we do it". I have watched small shops to multi-national, enterprise level companies do it. More often than not, the business of the new year, the planning and implementing of new marketing and sales strategies doesn't begin until March. At the earliest. That is nearly three months of much needed planning and structuring for a new year gone.

Perhaps, more accurately, I should have titled this post "Getting the year started right." A common misconception is that January and February are low revenue months as people recover from over-spending in December. Not entirely incorrect, but definitely misconstrued. People spend. People love to spend. And if you're selling, chances are, there are enough people out there who want it. So, instead of jumping on a bigger, better pedestal and letting people know you're open for their business in a big way, you're cloistered in the office getting ready to finally say goodbye to last year.

January is the time. Q1 is the time. Now is the time.

Think hard about what you want out of 2010. Take stock of your resources. And then find the drum you need and start beating it. Q1 is a starting block. What you build in the first three months of operation will seriously determine how far you can get this year. And we all know where you want to be. At the top.

This January, take the time to set aside those ledgers for a few hours each day. Well implemented marketing strategies take time to plan. Make the time and I promise, you won't be disappointed with the results. That said, I'll take my own advice and devote the rest of the day to where we're going to be this year.