It's a fact that it costs many times more to get a new customer than to keep doing business with customers you've already got.

Thus, one of the surefire ways to stay profitable is to have loyal customers who come back over and over again. Relationship building is the key. So what can you do?

Customers Aren't as Loyal as They Used to Be

There was a time when customers would find one service that met their needs and stay with it for years. Unfortunately, customers are now a lot more fickle, and are too easily tempted away by a competitor's offer if they decide it's cheaper or better than yours.

So-called ‘loyalty management' has become more of a science than it used to be, and it's something you need to make use of if you want to be retain your customers.

Offer Discounts for Repeat Business

Some businesses give people a 'first-time' discount as a hook to get them to try out their services. This is the wrong way go about it. What you should be trying to do is reward loyalty by giving people a discount each time they use your services.

Over time, this makes moving to your competition seem like a bad idea for them because, why would they when they get a 20% discount from you every time they make a purchase?

Keep Mailing Lists

You should have at least two mailing lists — one for your prospects (people who might buy from you some day), and one for your customers (people who've bought from you). You should lavish attention on both lists, but especially on the existing customer list — and don't be afraid to really lay it on for anyone who's bought from you more than once.

You should stay in contact with your regular customers as much as you can, always understanding their needs and being aware of when they might need you again. Don't worry about this costing tons of money for direct mail, try to use email whenever you can.

Here's the secret: contact, contact, contact. Send your regulars Christmas cards, invite them to meet with you for lunch — anything you can think of. Always come up with techniques you know your competitors are neglecting.

If your product or service is something your customer will need on a regular basis or at certain times of year, make sure you keep track of this in your customer database and send out some kind of promotion.

There's nothing worse than losing a customer's business just because they didn't have your phone number on hand and had a little extra time to see an offer from a competitor.

Another great way to stay in contact with customers is to send your mailing list is a regular newsletter, either by email or post. Take a few hours each month to write something with solid information about your industry that your customers will keep and find useful, and make sure you prominently display your logo so that they won't forget where they got this information.

As a bonus, you can also keep this material archived on your website so it can be found by people searching for related words in search engines.

Be Crazy About Feedback

Another good idea is to phone as many customers as you can to get their feedback after they've purchased from you. Make sure they were satisfied with what you provided, and offer to fix anything they're not happy with.

You should also ask them if they can think of any way you could improve your product or service. Customers will appreciate this attention to their needs — and they'll like it even more if you actually implement their suggestions.

Provide a Personal Service

Go the extra mile to make your customer feel like they're your friend, and not just a tracking number in your database. Try to tailor everything you do to your customer's needs, and make everything as easy as possible for them — don't leave them to do legwork that you could be doing. After all, they're the customer.

Finally, customers really do appreciate a little thank you note when you've received their payment. For an extra personal touch, you could even handwrite it.

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