Since the cost of finding new customers is increasing drastically, the best place to look for new business is from your existing customers. When approached properly, they can become a free sales force.
A good customer referral is the strongest advertising you can receive. This referral is actually a stamp of approval from a third party regarding your product or service. You create good referrals by being sure your customers have positive experiences when using your company.
A big mistake business owners make is assuming they know what customers want. Listen to the customers. After they are finished talking, repeat their requests to make sure you understand. Also, make sure your staff knows the importance of properly dealing with customers.
Don’t get caught in the misconception — if I do a good job, referrals are automatic. This can be true, but not always. Never take referrals for granted. Once your business has reached the level of constant business flow, do not stop marketing. Because of competition, technology, client mobility and market changes you must constantly work at keeping the referrals coming.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Follow-up, Frequency, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.