Funkerstation » Good Communication Is The Key

My wife likes to shop at the local Safeway. Is it because of the competitive prices? Yes Tomas Plekanec Olympics Jersey , that's part of it. Is it because of the convenient location? Yes, that's part of it too. She also likes their produce department. But the biggest reason she likes to shop at the local Safeway is "Marshall."


Now Marshall is very good check-out person. He's fast, efficient and seldom makes a mistake. But his "job competency" is not the reason why my wife keeps going back. She keeps going back because Marshall always has a warm and friendly smile. And because when Marshall asks, "How are you today?" well David Pastrnak Olympics Jersey , by golly, you just know he's sincere about it.


You see, for those few minutes while she's a customer in his check-out line Marshall makes my wife feel genuinely valued and appreciated. And week after week she buys our groceries at "Marshall's" Safeway.


As business owners, salespeople or marketing professionals very few of us will have the same weekly Ondrej Palat Olympics Jersey , face-to-face opportunity as Marshall to make our customers feel valued and appreciated. And yet if we're smart we'll make sure we have our very own "Marshall" Plan in effect. We'll make sure -- once we've "rescued" our customer from the grips of our competitor -- that we have a customer aftercare program in place to maintain the health and increase the profitability of that relationship.


This makes perfect marketing sense. And, with studies showing that the total cost of getting a new customer to be 10 times that of simply holding onto an existing one it can also make you plenty of dollars and cents. Particularly when you consider that a five percent improvement in customer retention can lead to an 85-percent increase in profits. You don't have to be King Solomon to see the wisdom in those numbers.


For example, imagine for a moment that you work in the real estate industry as either a real estate agent or loan officer. John and Judy First-Time Homebuyer purchase their first home or close on their first loan through your company. Assuming that John and Judy are upwardly-mobile professionals they'll probably purchase a minimum of another 4 - 5 homes during their lifetimes.


If you're in the lending business, that's another 4 - 5 loans Milan Michalek Olympics Jersey , at a minimum. If you're an agent or a broker there exists the potential for another 8 - 10 transactions. (Counting the sells as well as the buys.) John and Judy alone -- even if they never send you a single referral -- are conceivably worth many thousands of dollars to you during their lifetimes. But if you're actively working on this you're putting forth a consistent and concentrated effort to make John and Judy feel valued and they'll send you lots of referrals. I GUARANTEE IT.


Now stop a moment and multiply the above example by 40, 50, 500 or 1000 and you'll understand why today's savviest marketers are placing greater emphasis on "Share of Customer" and "Lifetime Value" than they do "Share of Market."


But without proper planning and execution you won't come close to realizing John and Judy's full "lifetime value". The same thing holds true for any other industry as well.


Good Communication Is The Key


The key to increasing your "Share of Customer" and maximizing "Lifetime Value" lies in continually strengthening the bond between you and your customer. It should come as no surprise to anyone that good communication plays a major role in this bonding process.