Dont You find your customers coming back to you time & again? Its time to check your business strategies now.Read on to get some clues on what might be going wrong!!
Think Beyond The First Sale!
In the US, the term “After-sales service” is not nearly as commonly used as “Customer service”. The distinction often made is that “After-sales service” is a more specific area under customer service, dealing with warranties and repairs. Fair enough. But with many concluding that customer service in general has deteriorated compared to past generations, perhaps it’s time to look at what these ideas really mean from a small business perspective.
The customer service often extends to people who haven’t even bought into your product yet. While attracting and educating potential customers is absolutely essential, time and again it has been proven repeat business is essential for sustainable growth. You can attract a lot of new customers, but if you can’t hang onto them, your business is not going to last very long.
If you have a unique product or service that happens to address an important need, this is a bit less of an issue. But say you run a dental practice, a laundry shop, an auto-repair shop, or do freelance graphic design, or are otherwise in a business that usually gets at least some competition. As much as you’d like to point out what makes your core offer so different from everyone else, it’s unlikely anyone else would care as much until they actually see your work.
And suppose your customers are satisfied, but not particularly awed- what then? Do you hope they don’t care enough to look for anyone else the next time they need it? Of course not.
Give Your Customers a Reason To Come Back- Or At Least Something Good To Remember You By
Developing an after-sales strategy can’t be ignored because this is how your brand develops a following, and hopefully, repeat business. It helps to have a good product of course. You might have a good product- but it’s possible your customers wouldn’t know how good it actually is compared to competing offers- making it extremely important to give them something else to remember you by. Why? Because I would rather have 10 regular customers that keep coming back over the course of a lifetime, than 100 new customers who’ll never do business with me again.
Your after-sales strategy should depend on the context of your business- these can be as varied as the types of business. Technical support and warranties as well as replacement policies are all standard tactics, which newbie business owners might overlook. You can also print up gift cards, or do something as simple as sending a heartfelt thank-you note for customer referrals.
One strategy many small businesses use is asking customers to fill out a survey in exchange for redeemable coupons. These little things can make a huge difference.
Without a plan that goes beyond the first sale, you’re like a hot date who’s got nothing else going for them. Almost anyone can attract someone’s attention- winning them over on the other hand, is a totally different thing altogether.
Without a plan that goes beyond the first sale, you’re like a hot date who’s got nothing else going for them. Almost anyone can attract someone’s attention- winning them over on the other hand, is a totally different thing altogether.
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