Thursday, February 25, 2010

How Good Customer Service Can Boost Your Sales

If you want to increase your sales dramatically you should definitely shift your focus to your customer service. While attracting new customers to purchase your digital downloads is important, enticing proven customers to buy again might be a challenge. In retail (and most other industries) the best sales prospect is one that has already been converted. In other words, your current customers are your best bet. So, how can you do this?

First of all, getting your past customers to return to you will save you a ton of money in the marketing department. Take a few minutes and think of all the customers who have purchased your products in the past, but haven’t come back since. You probably made the most common mistake that business owners do – assuming that once they have purchased from you, they’ll continue to do so loyally. But if you don’t maintain and nurture that relationship, you might as well have never had their business in the first place.

You should think about the reasons a customer might leave you. Although there are quite a few, there are some of the most common:

  • Unfair pricing
  • Unresolved complaints
  • Better deal from competitors
  • They felt you didn’t care

These reasons are all easily dealt with and they make perfect sense. Business owners want to avoid inactive clients at all costs. Just think about it – customers often make purchases from a particular vendor because they have built up a relationship with that provider. If you don’t nurture that relationship from the start, you can basically kiss that customer goodbye.

While you should definitely seek new clients, your existing customers are incredibly important. When you consider the fact that repeat customers spend almost 40% more than new customers, referrals from repeat customers are more frequent than non-customers, and it costs a lot more to sell something to a potential customer than to a returning customer. You’ll want to take a closer look at your customer service.

Boost your sales with good customer service. It isn’t going to be hard at all. Treating your customers with respect and as if they are your strategic business partners can go a long way. Clients and customers who feel satisfied and cared for are going to spend more money on your products and make more recommendations to their friends, family, and colleagues. This also means that you should offer returning customers special deals, free samples, and other perks. The more you give, the more you are going to get in return.

The bottom line is that the better your customer service, the better sales you will enjoy. Do your best to attract new customers, but once you have them, keep them! Keeping this in mind will only boost your sales and your overall business.