What's the Value of Your Customers to Your Business?

By David Hoffman


Do you have any idea how much your customers are worth to your business? You're completely wrong if you think the answer is the price of your product! That's just the value of a customer's initial purchase.

A more important number to know is the "lifetime value" of a customer. Did you know that you'll spend five to seven times more money and more effort to gain to a new customer than you would to get another order from a current customer?

That's a general rule. For some products, prospects may need even more contact and visits to your site before they click the order button. Nurturing your customers is an important way to increase your overall sales.

You've already built rapport with the customer so when you send a new product pitch, the customer wants to know what you have to offer. Finding quality products from trustworthy sellers can be a challenge, so buyers who received a good product in a timely manner backed by a solid guarantee are satisfied and they're more likely to buy again.

Don't flood your customers with every offer possible if you want them to buy from you again. It's much more effective to send a customer offers that match their previous purchase type and general price range. For instance, some people prefer buying DVDs or CDs, while others prefer to download their purchases.

The worst thing you can do is send your customers every type of offer you can think of. It won't take long before they'll start deleting your emails without reading them. It's important to know your customers' preferences because that's what lets you offer them the products they're most likely to buy.

You want to create product eagerness in your customers. In other words, if you send an email pitching a new product, you want your customer to be unable to wait to see what it is. That type of reaction will mean you'll probably have a long-term relationship with that customer. You set yourself apart from other Internet marketers by the way you nurture your customers.

Send your customers a free "customer appreciation" gift from time to time. If you send one that's not part of an order, you'll really help yourself stand out. A free gift is an effective way to remind your customers to come back to your site and check out your new products.

Enlist your customers in your marketing efforts by offering a bonus item or discount whenever they refer a friend who buys one of your products. A long-term, repeat customer is a valuable asset to your online business, so treat your customers like gold.




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