Customer Retention Strategies – ROCK your Customers – Book Review – customer loyalty and retention

Customer retention strategies are high on the list of what small business owners want and need to grow their businesses.  Customers can sometimes be a necessary evil, over time we can be worn down in the day to day grind trying to be calm, patient, listening and advising. So at times we  need a ‘pick me up’ or ‘recharge’ ourselves to regain our focus on customer service, and I have come to the conclusion that I need to change my mindset.  I have now re-found my The Hidden Power of Your Customerspassion for my customers. The source of this passion has steamed from a book I have started reading called The Hidden Power of Your Customers  by Becky Carroll. You and I know that existing customers should not be overlooked. You and I  know that  are know the it’s cheaper and more effective to sell to existing customers than to try and source new ones.  The customer retention strategies by Becky help to get us to a point we can move forward, and if you have been in business a while, renewed. Also this book will help those just starting out to learn great skills from the start and maybe avoid  some of the mistakes that are so easily to made when dealing with the public.

Beckys stategy uses a ROCK metaphore

  • Relevant marketing
  • Orchestrated customer experience
  • Customer focused
  • Killer customer service
to provide  a boost to your business by focusing on the current customer base.  As it’s the existing customers that can become champions for our businesses, even without them be aware they can spread the word on what sets our businesses apart from the others.

At the current price of $13.72 on Kindle or from & $18.00 hardcover this is a no brainer investment to make in your business.

 

Click this link to go to order in Amazon The Hidden Power of Your Customers: 4 Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers

 

Read more below:

 

Customer Retention Strategies – ROCK your Customers

 

From the Inside Flap

This book will change the way you think about your customers. Some companies are ahead of the game when it comes to customer retention. They’re doing so much right for their existing customers that they have a loyal following of brand evangelists. These are “Customers Rock!” companies that have built their businesses by unleashing the potential that’s hidden within their current customers.

But many other companies have a long way to go. Loyal customers get very little in return for their business. New customers get the sales and marketing attention, the cool social media outreach, and the best deals. Feeling unrecognized and neglected, once-loyal buyers seek better treatment elsewhere. Additionally, the onset of social media is driving a major change in customers’ behaviors, making it highly risky not to focus on existing customers. It’s time to get back to the basics. It’s time to return to the customer.

Through practical tips and real-world case studies, The Hidden Power of Your Customers offers four key strategies for retaining and achieving growth from existing customers.

 

Customer loyalty and retention book review

The following are reviews on the book from Amazon.com

 

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
 A must read for marketers February 23, 2012
Format:Hardcover
“The Hidden Power of Your Customers” is a revolutionary text for marketers. I use Becky’s book in my graduate level customer-focused marketing class at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, because it is a perfect example of the current state of marketing. The dynamics of marketing have dramatically shifted and Becky’s blueprint on what it takes to engage and establish loyal relationship strategies are gracefully put into context with sound examples. This book is a must for evolving marketers.
A MUST READ!!, March 26, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: The Hidden Power of Your Customers: 4 Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers (Hardcover)
Bravo! I finished reading “The Hidden Power of Your Customers” the other night and I have to say that is it one of the best business books I have ever read. I really enjoyed Becky Carroll’s writing style and think that she was able to take a series of complex ideas and make them exceptionally easy to understand. Moreover, she provided highly relevant examples that reinforced her points. This is a must read book for all executives that want to remain competitive, and excel, in the age of social media and customer empowerment.Chuck Lisinski
Managing Director
OptiStrat Consulting

 Lots of yellow ink August 8, 2011

Format:Hardcover
In the introduction to “The Hidden Power of Your Customers”, Becky Carroll encourages readers to use a highlighter as they read. By the end of the book, I had more yellow highlighter throughout than untouched pages. The book is full of practical advice about unleashing the power of existing customers to: go from satisfied customers to ones with deep affinity, increase their LTV, spread word of mouth and drive referals. The book contains case studies, checklists, metrics and more. I particularly liked the core consept that brands spend the bulk of their marketing dollars on finding new customers and fail to unlock the value of existing customers. In this age when companies confuse followers or fans with true brand asdvocates, it is refreshing to read about a process that makes customers the focus. Not only do “Customers Rock” but so does this book.
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The Hidden Power of Your Customers: 4 Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers

Use demographic data to keep your small business one step ahead

A chance reading of an article in the Sydney Morning Herald got me thinking about changing demographics. While the article was specifically looking at the expected large numbers of seniors who will require aged care, it resonated with me how important it is for business owners to consider using demographic data.

What has happened in my children’s shoe market in the past couple of years is a case in point.

Firstly about 2 years ago we had a shortage size 9 shoes. Purchasing levels were in line with expectations but they were selling faster

use demographic data

use demographic data

than usual. Talking to customers they also said that it was hard to buy clothes in the correct size.  It turns out there was a birthing bubble about 3 years prior which meant a greater demand at that time.  The lag in supply is over 6 months to a year until we can adjust our ordering levels.  My store is in New Zealand which has a population of a little over 4 million as as with most consumer products, large stocks are not held in the present economic conditions. For a few  shoe brands there were stocks available in Australia which we could draw on, but only small quantities.

While we can now make allowances for this and order based on the expected sizes required as the children grow, but there are also external factors which could also affect us. This was highlighted in a big way the last couple of months. Suddenly our draw down stocks based in Australia are NIL. It appears that Australia has had their own little boom & wiped out the current winter supply.

Use demographic data to keep your small business one step ahead

Here’s an extract from the article to get you thinking:

The demographic shift has implications for small businesses’ marketing strategies and staffing, as well as bringing potential opportunities for providing services to a mature population.

The proportion of Australia’s population 65 years of age or older has grown from 8 per cent in 1970-71 to 13 per cent in 2001-02. In 40 years’ time, a quarter of the population will be aged over 65. The number of working-age people to support each retiree will fall from five people today to 2.7 in 2049-50.Read more click here

 

So the lesson to be learnt?

Keep up with the demographic and other data  for the buyers of your products or services. Are you expecting changes due to an aging population, new technology,  changes in the income levels of your customers, growth from new residential subdivisions in your local market,  a new supermarket in the area that will bring in more customers, a new school being built.

Also, consider the supply chain lag. How long will it take for your suppliers to be able to provide stock? What about staffing?

Consider using demographic data that is up to date to keep you one step of changes to your customer base.

 

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