DO YOUR CUSTOMERS LOVE YOU?

Here's a question: Would you rather have 10,000 customers buy your products once, or 500 customers who were raving fans? I hope the answer is obvious!Advertising and marketing make it possible to sell your products around the world, and getting customers to try your service once is a relatively well-defined science. You can hire experts on marketing and branding, and consultants to "target" your niche and refine your message.What you cannot buy (at least not in the same way) is customer loyalty. You buy customer loyalty and repeat business with extraordinary customer care-not customer "service", but honest, extreme, personal caring for your customers. Fortunately, this is not difficult or expensive.Caring for your customers means working with them to solve their problems and achieve their goals. It means listening to them, and responding. It means the old boundaries between "seller" and "buyer" break down and we work as a team to achieve win-win results that enrich us both.Recently, a friend and I compared notes about two local businesses. Bob talked angrily about a company that refused to provide service, a refund or credit when it's product failed to meet his needs. Then we talked about another local vendor who has a reputation for always going the "extra mile". Guess who we'll do business with next time?A few dozen customers, well taken care of, can make you rich. Never, never, never forget that!