In fact, research shows that 78% of people have walked away from a sale as a result of poor customer service.īut if you get it right, it has a positive impact on your customer base and your bottom line. To keep your existing customers coming back, it’s important you offer great customer service. You need to start a relationship early, so that it’s mature enough to deliver new business when your other work is completed.” Offer great customer service Old business can falter if budgets change or people move on, so it’s important to look for new opportunities. But you need to keep bringing in new business too. Mike says, “We do have a lot of repeat business and feel we offer the most value with long-term clients. It’s important to ensure you don’t focus on one at the expense of the other, as both are important for growing your customer base. In simple terms, there are two ways to get more business – win new business or get your existing customers to spend more. It leads to a more balanced relationship.” Divide your time: support existing clients and look for new work Then we look at how we can accelerate that and customise our services to meet their needs. Mike Cockburn, director at Sogno, a positive psychology coaching company, says, “It’s important that we understand what our clients are trying to achieve: their mission, their goals. Because I source the produce and pack the boxes, I know exactly what’s happening and can provide a fully personalised service.”Īnd it’s not just consumers who like this approach. I have a good relationship with our customers and I know the business. “This is where we have an advantage over bigger suppliers. Our service is completely personalised to their needs. She says: “We know our customers really well and know their preferences so we can tell them when certain things are coming – when they’re in season and in stock. She’s managing director of Bodice of Holt, which offers a home delivery service for fruit and vegetables.
It can also help you stand out from your competitors, something that Alice Boden understands. Understanding your customers’ needs can lead to better insights into your audience and allows you to develop services that are matched to your clients’ needs. There’s a lot of talk about personalisation and customer insight – that’s because it works. We spoke to two small business owners and asked them to share their experiences of growing their customer base. But doing so is often a concern for businesses, with more than one in three companies saying that generating new business is their biggest worry. Customers are the lifeblood of any business, so it’s vital you can keep generating leads and retaining your existing customers.
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