Are you …

• Always thinking about the next sale?
• Having difficulty creating client loyalty?
• Not getting the repeat business or referrals you want from your current clients?

Well maybe it’s time for you to start thinking about client appreciation.

If done well, client appreciation is an integral part of the sales/marketing strategy of any business.  After all, it costs five times more to land a new client than to maintain the relationship with an existing client.  It’s not enough to interact with the customer only when a sale is happening.  A good client appreciation strategy should include regular check-ins that are not “chasing the sale” but a genuine “Thank you for your business.”  In order to stay top of mind with your client, you can include in person meetings, telephone calls, e-mails, handwritten notes, videos and intentional gift giving.

How the Customer Experience Impacts Loyalty

Think about your experience at a restaurant.  If your food is delivered, your waiter can just sit back and wait to clear the empty dishes or sail by with a perfunctory inquiry about the food.  Or, your waiter can make a real effort to find out how the meal is going, check on water glasses, offer more drinks or bread and otherwise contribute to your experience at the restaurant.  Which kind of service gets the bigger reward?  The answer should be obvious.  The bread and water offered by the waiter may seem simple, but these gestures, free of charge to the customer, make for a memorable, pleasant experience, as well as a big tip!  The extra attention that gets rewarded when dining out is the sort of attention that will keep your clients loyal and invested in your success.

What Is Client Appreciation?

Client appreciation programs have the same impact.  It has been shown that 68% of customers who stop doing business with a company do so because they do not feel appreciated.  An appreciation gesture — that phone call, handwritten note, or gift — at an unexpected interval puts the humanity back into the business relationship.  It creates a connection with the customer that goes beyond the sale, it builds trust and gratitude.  When a client feels appreciated, they want to continue the relationship, resulting in repeat business.  But also, a customer who feels a genuine connection with you and your business can become an advocate for your business — promoting it through referrals and positive reviews.

Why Investing in Existing Clients Pays Off

When thinking about client appreciation programs, some people balk at the time it takes and the cost. However, the success rate of selling to an existing client is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new client is 5-20%.  Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to your client relationships.  Given the time, energy and expense of landing a new client, investing in the relationships of your existing clients will inevitably be less expensive and more productive.

Be Thoughtful With Every Appreciation Gesture

At VirtuArte, we feel that a customer appreciation program should be intentional.  This means that every appreciation gesture needs to be thoughtful.  Take the time to call your client and find out how they are doing.  If you are going to send a card, handwrite it with a personalized message.  Sending a video?  Again, personalize it.  If you decide to give a gift, make the effort to find a gift that shows you’ve paid attention to the client as a person.  This makes the gift memorable to your client.  Use your periodic check-ins to do more than assess how the client is doing; use them to show your client you really appreciate their business.

Want to know more about how you can show your customers how much you appreciate them?  Contact us here to set up a consultation about customized client appreciation programs to strengthen your client relationships.

The post Client Appreciation Is Key for Building Loyal Business Relationships appeared first on VirtuArte.

If you ask a business owner how they are going to grow their business, most will tell you by attracting new leads and acquiring more clients.  Now, don’t get me wron,g there is a need for businesses to acquire new clients, but this is costly as a growth strategy.  It also ignores one of the business’s most valuable assets, its existing clients.

Why Client Retention Is More Cost-Effective Than Client Acquisition

Research by Invesp shows:

• Acquiring a new client costs five times more than retaining an existing client.
• The success rate of selling to an existing client is 60-70% while the success rate of selling to a new client is 5-20%; and
• Increasing client retention rates by 5% increases profit by 25-95%.

Focusing on client acquisition is a less cost-effective way to grow your business.  You’ve already invested marketing and sales resources in your existing clients and have built the know, like and trust with them.  They’ve purchased your products and/or services and started to develop a relationship with you and your business.  Existing clients are 50% more likely to try new products and spend 31% more.

How Loyal Clients Drive Referrals and New Leads

As these clients get to know your business and make more purchases, they are more likely to share your products and their experience with others.  Thus, you become both loyal clients and advocates for your business.  Existing clients can become a lead generation source for your business as they refer family, friends and colleagues.  Studies show 92% of potential leads trust personal recommendations more than any other kind of marketing.

Using Client Insights to Improve Products and Services

Your existing clients can also be your best source of information on the clients you are targeting, since they have already bought your product or service.  Their shopping habits and purchasing patterns can help you better understand why and how leads become clients, enabling you to refine your marketing and targeting efforts.  At the same time, these clients can provide you with feedback on how to improve your products and services, plus spot opportunities for new products to add to your current offerings.  Cross-selling, which can increase profits up to 40%, is easier with existing clients than with new clients.

The Long-Term Benefits of a Strong Client Retention Strategy

The importance of client retention on your business growth is clear.  It leads to:

• Spending less on marketing and advertising;
• Lower cost of acquiring new clients as your business gets more qualified referrals;
• Sales with higher margins as existing clients are less price conscious and value your business; and
• More repeat purchases because existing clients believe you offer superior products and/or services.

The benefits of client retention not only impact your revenue and profit, it can also impact your employee retention.  Focusing on client retention allows your employees to spend less time trying to acquire new customers, more time developing meaningful relationships with your existing clients leading to higher morale.  Work becomes less about sales and more about people.

How VirtuArte Helps Businesses Improve Client Retention

Client acquisition is important, but don’t make it your business’s sole priority.  Don’t neglect your existing clients.  A satisfied, loyal client is worth more than one who is not.  Don’t have a client retention strategy? Let VirtuArte help.  Contact us here or give us a call at 866.228.3497 to set up a complimentary strategy session to discuss options for your client retention efforts.

The post Client Retention Drives Sustainable Business Growth appeared first on VirtuArte.