4 Basic Ingredients to Keep Your Customers Coming Back for More

We all have very busy shopping periods whereby our bank accounts and credit cards undergo corporal punishment. For many it's based around Christmas Holiday shopping. For my family and I, it's the time between late March and mid-June. We celebrate the Easter Holiday weekend, Mother’s Day, Victoria Day, and Father’s Day. Wait, there’s more. Our family also celebrates 3 birthdays during this time and my wife, and I attend friends’ anniversaries and several other family gatherings.

During the entire time, we shop for groceries at our neighbourhood grocery stores, our local farmer’s market and local specialty shops. We buy flowers from our community florist and buy cakes, pastry and chocolate from our favourite bakery and chocolatier. We dine at neighbourhood restaurants. We also drive to the rural nursery and purchase our annual flowers and herbs for the spring planting season. Like many others, we fuel up at our nearby gas station and buy our favourite celebratory beverages at LCBO.

Time and time again, we observed shop owners who were indifferent to the level of standard in their offerings and whose employees were indifferent to their customers.

What do I mean by that you ask? Here's what I mean.

It’s become evident that over the past decade, there has been a noticeable decline in customer attention, customer respect and good basic customer service. It seems that there is less care taken by shop owners and their employees in fulfilling the customer's wants and needs.

"owners must constantly think of strategies to keep their customers from fleeing to their competition"

Customer issues are not being solved but rather just brushed off with excuses. if you tell them your frustration, they simply shrug their shoulder and move on.

You ask for help to see if an item is in stock and their answer is, "I don't know, check over there.”

Employees make the customers feel that they are annoying so as not to bother asking any questions; customers feel that employees are just warm bodies who are there for nothing else but the paycheck...and so on, and so on.

A display of true ownership is lacking in these shops. They don’t care. Have you noticed?

Undoubtedly, their apathy translates to uninterested and disloyal customers, which may explain why so many micropreneurs and small businesses find it so difficult to succeed.

This struggle to achieve business success is evidenced even more so in the current downturn economy, due to Covid-19 and the Russia - Ukraine war. Yet, as I recall from my experience of owning businesses during recessions, this is when customer loyalty has a greater significance, and more likely to have a profound effect on survival and a positive outcome.

There was a time not that long ago when shop owners refrained from saying “NO” to customer requests in fear that they may go to the competitor. I’m not saying that the customer is always right. However, with so many client options abound one cannot chance to lose customers and revenue because of indifference.

Instead, owners must constantly think of strategies to keep their customers from fleeing to their competition. Owners must regain their appetite for customer satisfaction and discover and demonstrate the initial enthusiasm they once had for customers when they first launched their business.

"WIFM is anything but a dirty four-letter word."

Owners must seek to hire “winners” and train them for one basic purpose: to make the customer experience so memorable that customers would want to come back, again and again.

Owners and staff must continually be mindful of the customer-connected four-letter “WIFM” acronym (what's in it for me?). WIFM is anything but a dirty four-letter word. It’s an insight into the customer buying process and an awareness of how important your customers are and what the real value of a customer is to your business.

Customer loyalty does not have to be an expensive marketing strategy. It can be a simple yet game changing, back to basics internal process.

Here is a 4-ingredient formula that will create a memorable customer experience and a recipe that keeps your customers coming back to your place of business.

Ingredient #1 - Your Offering

Start by giving your customers a quality sourced product, within your positioned price point.

This means tasking your suppliers to provide you with materials of high grade and then implementing an internal quality process all the while instilling quality in your business culture.

Ingredient #2 - How You Offer It

Follow up your great product with amazing customer service whereby the customer feels important enough to become a goodwill ambassador for your business and brand? This means establishing an employee training program that is a constant to achieving the business's goals.

"every customer wants a quality product delivered with outstanding service, at a reasonable price point and great value in a way that is not only enjoyable but also memorable. "

Ingredient #3 - What Will You Charge For Your Offering

Add great value by charging your customer at a fair and reasonable price point. This means having an understanding of your customer's true wants and needs and what your customer is willing to pay in exchange for your offering. Listening to your customer is key here.

The quality of materials, the way your product is offered, the customer experience and competitor comparison will determine a fair and reasonable price by which you turn a profit after the customer makes the purchase.

Ingredient #4 - The Environmental Experience

Add to the mix a clean and comfortable environment in which your customer may enjoy the buying experience (whether in a physical location or an online store).

Subconsciously, this is what every customer wants: a quality product delivered with outstanding service, at a reasonable price point and great value in a way that is not only enjoyable but also memorable.

Are your customers getting that?

In an ever-mindful planned approach, this is what you must deliver to them so that they do not consider the alternative. Achieve this significant stage and you will have differentiated your business from the competitors.

Then and only then, will your customers keep coming back for more, more often, and will freely spread the good word as good will ambassadors, promoting your good business name and your brand, resulting in steady growth and a flourishing business. Priceless.

Tip:

Pareto’s rule that 20% of customers are typically responsible for 80% of a company’s revenue, applies here. Focus on the 20%, the rest will take care of itself.

To learn more about my Customer Loyalty Action Plan (CLAP) that keeps customers coming back, click here.

Good business makes better sense when approached with a business mindset and a thought-out plan. Plan well, plan for success. Talk to an expert

About The Author

John Anagnostou is the owner of businessMD.

businessMD is an expert small business solutions firm offering well-crafted business plans, targeted marketing strategies, Pitch decks and other business-related documents.

businessMD aspires to help new Canadian micropreneurs and small business operators find business success. www.bizMD.ca