The job of convincing your existing customers to spend higher and more often can be an extremely tough task. There are many ways of achieving customer loyalty. It can be far more profitable to market existing and new products to an established customer base, than to try and attract new buyers. Offering incentives such as: loyalty discounts, increased order discounts, attractive credit terms, bonuses and dedicated account managers are just a few tried and tested methods for maintaining and increasing customer loyalty.

Never forget that it costs your business far more to attract new customers, than it does to market to your existing customer base. In fact, research shows that in some cases it can cost up to fifteen times more to attract new customers, than it does to keep existing ones. So it really does pay to look after your existing loyal customers, strive to meet, and even exceed all their needs, however demanding. Remember the phrase the customer is always right.

Offering a cheap product is not the only reason loyal customers come back to you again and again. There are other factors such as: service, knowledge and professionalism to be taken into account, as well as price. You have to give your customers as many reasons as possible to stay loyal to your company. Having the cheapest price for a given product or service is not always the answer some people think it is. In fact many customers may perceive that a cheaper selling price indicates an inferior product or service. Differentiate between your product and that of your competitors as much as possible, and focus on why your service is better than that of your competitors.

In all your marketing efforts, whether to existing or new customers, consider the following factors:

1. Value for money - ensure that your customers know they are getting good value for their money.

2. Quality - offer the best quality products possible for the price you intend to charge.

3. Company image - handle all enquiries professionally and ensure that staff knowledge and training is up to date.

4. Turn around - offer the best order turnaround you can. You could offer express delivery for an extra charge, or even waiver the delivery charge on high value orders.

By concentrating on all of the above factors, a good customer relationship can be built right from the very first contact and then maintained for a long lasting and profitable partnership.

Thanks for reading

Jason