Why you must nurture your customers as the heart of your business
How much time and attention do you give your customers? Find out why they are at the very heart of your business.
Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said: “It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.” And he’s absolutely right.
Unfortunately, many business owners are too focused on their products and services and how to sell more of them and make more money. As they focus on this, they are missing a very important part of the business and also the solution to their problem – the customers.
Word of mouth marketing is incredibly powerful
According to a report from McKinsey, an unhappy customer will tell 10-15 people about their experience. And more than 14% of your unsatisfied customers will tell at least 20 people about their experience of buying a product or service from you.
So it’s not just money out of their own pocket that your customers bring, but they also influence others, either to buy or not to buy from you. Word of mouth marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing and it is down to your customers how well they do this.
An Accenture global customer satisfaction survey also showed that the overall customer service a customer receives is the key reason behind a customer’s relationship with you and not the pricing of a product.
Satisfied customers are worth at lest 2.6 times more
This is supported by a study by business services company InfoQuest which showed that “fully satisfied customers” contribute at least 2.6 times more towards the company’s revenue than the less satisfied customers.
We all know that customers are important but when you’re running a business, you need to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Think about what it is that makes you spend money with other companies. Would you go to the more expensive shop that offers better service and that you have a good relationship with?
The likelihood is yes you would because it’s the whole service and experience that matters and not just the price of the product or service.
If you want your business to succeed then not only do you need to attract new customers but you need to retain the ones you have and keep them coming back.
Give your customers a reason to return
You can only do this by treating them well and giving them a reason to come back. These are the customers who are going to recommend you to others, these are the ones who are going to leave good reviews for you and these are the customers who are going to give you valuable feedback and support your business in every way they can.
Without customers, you have nothing. Even if you have the best product on the market, it is worthless if no one wants it. Don’t try to force people to buy it and force them to see how good it is, treat them how you would want to be treated as a customer.
Educate your customers by all means, but make sure you nurture them too and keep them for as long as you possibly can.
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo
