7 Tips to Keep a Customer for Life

By Randi Busse - Jul 18, 2016

How hard is it to get a customer? Last time I was shopping at Wal-Mart, they didn’t have an aisle filled with them (well, actually, they did, but they weren’t for sale, they were shopping, too!). Customers typically aren’t lined up outside your place of business waiting to do business with you. And your phones probably aren’t ringing off the hook with them calling to buy your products. If they are, you can stop reading now. However, if customers are important to your business, as they are to most, once you get them, you want to make sure you hold on to them, preferably for life.

Following these tips will put you on the path of “keeping customers for life!”

  1. Be enthusiastic! If you want to WOW your customer, the way to do it is with enthusiasm. Let them know you are happy to help them and happy that they have chosen to do business with you.
  2. Use your customer’s name. Dale Carnegie once said, “There is nothing sweeter than the sound of one’s own name.” Using the customer’s name shows you are interested in them.
  3. Smile, even if you’re on the phone, and especially when you’re on the phone. A smile can actually be heard over the phone. You will sound friendly and interested in what the customer is saying.
  4. Listen. Pay attention to what they are saying. The customer should have your undivided attention the entire time they are on the phone with you, or in front of you in your place of business.
  5. Express empathy. Doing so lets the customer know that you heard what they said and that you have a genuine interest in helping them.
  6. Ask them what else you can do to help them. Show interest in them and their needs.
  7. Thank your customers for calling. They are plenty of other companies that do what your company does, and yet this customer chose to do business with you. Let them know you appreciate them and their business.

Customers for life is not a myth. It can and should be your reality. By following the tips above, you can create customers for life and turn them into raving fans.