DO YOUR CUSTOMERS LOVE YOU?

Here's a question: Would you rather have 100,000 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 is customer loyalty. At least, you can't
buy it in the same way. 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!