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Shelter Chieza Change Management
Have you ever been to a coffee shop where there was a customer who seems to be chatting up the waiters? At every second, one waiter is weaving past and offering to make them more comfortable, fill up their cup with whipped cream or asking if their coffee is still hot enough or whether their new

sandwich is tasty?

If you have, I bet in your mind you were wondering what this guy did to deserve this? Yes, it’s the power of a regular customer.

In any business, the regular customer must be a pillar. These are the people that buy more often, are less expensive to maintain because of their familiarity with your business and the processes behind it.

These are also the type that is not afraid to try out your new products at each turn. Pamper them like little new-born babies all the time.

Generally, the cost of acquiring a new customer can be 10 times more than keeping a regular one satisfied.

Buyers are not always the predictable type. They generally want to trade with organisations that have some form of credibility.

Brands and names are big sellers. Generally, a more powerful party always seeks formal agreement that protects its power base. I have observed that inasmuch as it may not be worth it, most customers are uncomfortable of committing to a single brand that generally stems out of the need to experiment.

If a customer is “satisfied” and has stayed with you long enough, they are likely to stick with you in the long run.

They are also less likely to be price sensitive. In such scenarios, you are in a better position to shut out new competition.

The regulars tend to request for personalisation though. Little things such as remembering their names, familiarity with their workplace are crucial elements that will assist in endearing themselves to you.

Remembering names is not easy though but some sales people are good at it. Some people prefer a certain way of being addressed; find a way of addressing them that makes them feel special.

Ladies are very sensitive to either being addressed as Mrs or Ms or Miss. Stick to the neutral ones if you don’t know – “Maam” would do.

E-mail marketing as been discovered to be effective for the regular customer. It makes it personal when you receive e-mails and regular update of your products via e-mail. Remember only the consistent useful content must be posted as it may get draining to the client.

Regulars require low key maintenance, but they are not maintenance free. A lot of companies make the mistake of assuming that regulars are maintenance free.

Many companies are now doing testimonials as social proof. Reviewing your products and services will help cement the relationship.

You can even go further by mentioning your top 10 customers and possibly putting their logos and links to their websites on your own page. Credibility in our environment counts a lot to the regular customer.

View your relationship with your customer like a love relationship between a man and woman.

Would you go for a week without talking to your lover? The same goes for a business relationship.

You can be easily be forgotten if you do not keep in touch with your customers. Remember that your customer has a lot of suitors/competitors that are wooing her/him.

Keeping the love between your company and your customers going because their positive attributes about you will be absolutely priceless.

Make sure you nurture the customer-focused culture of your business. Never fail to enchant those customers that fell in love with you to focus on the new ones.

Be transparent to your customers. Inas- much as you have developed a relationship, the issues of trust are never shelved.

Don’t hide your deficiencies and your areas of weakness in the name of maintaining a good record. If your staff have erred, reprimand them in the most appropriate way.

In one of our animated conversations, I picked up one of my customers’ favourite earthly scent. She was so ecstatic when we delivered a refresher bag with her specialised scent to her office for her birthday.

We went through a lot of struggle just to import her favourite scent but it was all worth it. She said she can’t stop talking about us at her workplace, church or at her children’s school. We have literally racked in thousands of dollars though her marketing. She tops it up with her loud mouth, but it’s okay for us, we love it that way.

When you notice the little things customers feel special. Take note of your customers’ likes and dislikes, it turns them into raving fans.

Till next week, may God richly bless you.

• Shelter Chieza is a Management Consultant. She can be contacted at [email protected]