Customer Appreciation: How to Maintain Good Relationships With Your Market

Statistics show that new customer acquisition is usually more expensive than customer retention. Therefore, logic would dictate that when a business finds those loyal customers, companies should put some effort into maintaining those relationships by implementing customer appreciation programs.

How do you Maintain Good Relationships with Your Market?

It depends. Relationships fall apart faster than they are built, so first and foremost maintaining good relationships with your market requires a proactive approach. Possible problems that have not occurred do not have to be addressed, but if a business senses that deploying an update for an application or changing payment methods at a retail store may cause confusion or inconvenience clients, businesses should be prepared for that possible fallout. Whether it’s extra customer support representatives manning the phones outside of business hours or offering to waive fees, demonstrate the ability to put the customer first.
It’s true that customers can be fickle and that no two are exactly alike. Global Concierge understands this and can help deliver outstanding customer service. Whether it’s simply answering questions in a timely manner or developing new rewards programs, using Global will lead to desired results.

Integrating Customer Appreciation into the Company Culture

Customer appreciation is not a new concept, it’s just that some businesses excel at implementing and seeing such programs through better than others. When customer appreciation becomes a part of the company culture, related programs are less likely to be met with opposition. For example, a sales team that is rewarded and compensated for repeat purchases by existing clients well is more likely to take care of those relationships just as well in addition to signing up new clients.

The Costs of Customer Appreciation

The point of business is to grow, so it makes sense that companies focus a majority of their efforts into growing their customer base. Unfortunately, this focus leads to unintentionally ignoring the current base. Take advantage of the fact that it’s less expensive, by about a fifth, to maintain the existing client relationships. Happy customers lead to positive word of mouth and that defrays some of those new customer acquisition costs.
When it comes to keeping good relationships with your market, remember that the existing customer base is just as valuable as the shiny new customers. Showing all customers sincere appreciation for their loyalty with superior customer services assures positive word of mouth and opens the door to more leads.