Your
station has a single asset that, if properly maintained, could increase your annual
revenues by 25 to 100 percent: your existing customer base.
Keeping your existing customers has a much bigger impact on your bottom line than reeling
in the new ones. That's because longer business relationships mean bigger sales and it
costs less to keep an old customer than to acquire a new one.How does a service station keep its
customers? By making a customer loyalty program a part of your business plan, the experts
say. Customer loyalty programs take many forms, but they all do the same thing -- they
tell your customers, "Thank you."
"Whether it's a magnetically
striped frequent-flier card or a stamp-it-yourself, buy-10-get-one-free card, it all boils
down to the same thing: You need to reward our customers for coming back.
The
price of loyalty |
Loyal
customers are your best customers. Retaining just 5 percent more customers increases the
lifetime value of each customer by up to 100 percent.
Why?
• New customers are costly
customers. You have to lure them with advertising, and once they're in the door, they need
more help. Software buyers, for example, call the help desk more in the first 60 days than
they do in the next 60 months.
• Loyal customers buy more and are less price-sensitive than new customers.
• Loyal customers refer friends to your business. |
A good customer loyalty program
should recognize your customers and thank them for their continued business. Two-thirds of
all customers that leave a station, leave because they feel ignored. Many small businesses
have found creative and inexpensive ways to keep their customers coming back.
To get them coming back, some
investment is required: Spring for a cup of coffee, for example. A small business owner
can learn a lot by simply sitting down with a customer over coffee.
Here's a suggestion: Asking 10 top
customers what your company can do to make their lives easier. Put muffins with the coffee
and they always talk.
Then, craft a plan -- within your
budget. Here, in rising order of cost and complexity, are some ideas that will keep your
customers coming through your door.
No-cost
options
Don't underrate your potential gifts.
- Forward the freebies.
- Invite them back.
Low-cost
options
Give where it hurts the least and does the most.
- Thank weekend customers with a
certificate for a free second free coffee or product discount when they stop back on a
specified low-volume night.
- Develop a customer database by
starting a birthday month promotion. Ask for the customer's name, email and street
addresses, and birth month. Then send a birthday card and invitation to celebrate by
taking 20 percent off anything purchased in the store during the month.
- Put together a frequent-buyer
program. A 2-inch by 3-inch card and a rubber stamp will get you started on a simple
reward program. Buy-10-get-one-free cards work in all kinds of areas: coffee, fountain
drinks, oil changes, etc. There's nothing magic about the number 10, by the way -- your
get-one-free number may be higher or lower, depending on your product or service.
- Offer discounts on supplies related
to any product you sell. Batteries, cartridges, tire rotations, brake service or snack
shop items could be included in this category.
Fulfill a
need
Business-to-business loyalty programs are not always based on discounts, dating and
coupons. Sometimes giving customers something unexpected results in increased business and
a healthier bottom line for both parties.
Email also provides an affordable
means of providing your customers with regular newsletters, special pricing and event
information.
You can both give information to
and get information from your customers on your business
What lies
ahead
If the future follows the past, it won't be long before the sophisticated software used by
national marketing companies to predict, produce and administer national brand loyalty
programs will be affordable for small businesses too.
When that day comes, you'll be able
to predict your customers responses to proposed loyalty reward programs, email notices
when their favorite products go on sale and tell them exactly where they stand on your
company's latest frequent-buyer program. Selecting and notifying ideal candidates for
special offers and mailings will be a breeze. And, a tap of the computer key will produce
a detailed record of how your customers' business increases from year to year.
No doubt even in those high tech
times, a cup of coffee and a muffin will still provide the glue that keeps a customer
loyal to a company.
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