Do All Customers Have a Lifetime Value?
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007By Marte Cliff Yes, definitely, but you’d never know it when you see how few businesses take advantage of that potential. Smart internet marketers work hard to develop a relationship with their customers and prospects. They give away free reports and ezines filled with useful information. They know that by creating an atmosphere of trust they will be able to sell to those customers over and over again. Once that trust is established, they know that when their name appears in the “from” field, people will stop and see what they have to say today, because it will probably be interesting. Not to stray too far from my subject, but I do have to mention that some of those formerly smart marketers are blowing it now. They’ve switched from sending something interesting every few days with a little advertising thrown in - to sending heavy advertising with little or no information almost every day. I’ve started deleting them - and I’ll bet you have too. But now let’s leave the internet and go into the bricks and mortar world. Do customers at the hardware store have a lifetime value? Of course. If they find what they need, get courteous service, feel that they are valued, and the prices aren’t too far out of line, they’ll come back over and over. And if the hardware store owner recognizes their value and sends them a special “insider” promotion now and then, their loyalty will increase. At least one hardware chain is now building lists and offering incentives through a little keychain card that tracks purchases and rewards the customer with a coupon every quarter. Now there’s an effective way to determine the value of each customer! How about the furniture store? Also of course. Think about it. If someone buys a couch, won’t they soon want a chair? What about some end tables or a lamp? How many dollars does the average family spend on furnishings over a ten year period? Capture that lifetime value by giving previous buyers some special incentive to remain loyal - like an early bird shopping night or a special coupon. How about an occasional e-mail with furniture care tips or a coupon for a free can of upholstery cleaner or wood polish? How about letting them know that you’ll special-order anything they need? If you have a store, start collecting those names, addresses, and e-mail addresses. Then start making your previous buyers feel special by offering something extra - just for them. I think those examples are obvious. But what about high ticket items - like a car or a house? Can smart businesses and sales people create lifetime customers for those items? After all, most people don’t buy cars or houses every year, let alone every week. They can. But very few make the effort. And just think of what they’re worth! Plenty of people like to drive new cars, so they switch every 2, 4, or 6 years. I have no idea how much commission the sales person makes on each car, but I’ll guess at $1,000 for an average car. If you remain in car sales for 10 or 15 years, that customer could earn you another $5,000 - or perhaps much more. Remember that when you’re cultivating that lifetime customer, you are also cultivating his or her family and friends. But the opposite holds true, too. Our family shopped at the same dealership for over 30 years. But then “our” salesman retired and we got a salesman who tried to pull the old “My manager says” routine. The end result: we won’t return to that dealership. Ever. He had his eye on one sale - and it cost him and his dealership several more. My son likes to buy trucks! Realtors are notorious for closing the sale and forgetting the customer, but that’s a subject for a whole article in itself. If you haven’t determined the lifetime value of your customers, stop and think about it. How much do they spend, on average, each time they visit your store? How often do they visit? How many years can you serve them? Then start gathering their names and contact information and creating a marketing plan to turn them into lifetime customers. Remember, it costs more in time, effort, and dollars to gain a new customer than to keep an old one. Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter with many more tips to share. Visit her at http://www.marte-cliff.com and sign up for her free monthly advertising ezine. Marte also offers a no-obligation critique of your present advertising. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marte_Cliff http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-All-Customers-Have-a-Lifetime-Value?&id=293194 buy xanax with no prescription online prescription xanax xanax order now purchase the drug xanax online