Retain your customers at a higher rate!

 Business is tough in many parts of the world today.  A lot of people who are in business have to rely on old customers and referrals to get by. The new customers are difficult to come by. So while you seek the new ones learn to leverage the ones you have already so that you do not lose them.  Retention strategies are important for you to be able to do this.
What is retention?

•        Customer retention is the act of implementing certain strategies which allows current customers to keep using the brand and potential customers to turn into regular consumers. In order to sustain in the tough market competitions, businesses have to follow customer retention strategies right from the time they get a new customer till throughout the period the person uses the product.Customer retention is not just a matter of offering quality products, but also how the company gives proper services and creates a dependable goodwill in the market. 

         You and I have to foster good will and consistently court the customers' attention if we want to retain them. We must not give room for them to think of the competition as being better in any sense, so we have to frequently benchmark the competition in our sector and find out where we are going wrong and indeed what we are doing right. 

        Retained customers are known to generate much more revenue than occasional or new customers. They feel more comfortable with our services and procedures and do not usually hesitate before paying. Sometimes it possible for us to predict when our retained customers would buy and how much they would commit to new purchases over a period. This helps us to forecast our income and plan our finances.  

 

 

Practical strategies for retaining your customers:

•Membership cards and programs that entitle your customers to special offers, discounts, or preferential treatment.

•Welcome, acknowledgement, sales recognition, thank you statements.

•After sales satisfaction and complaint inquiries and surveys.

•Event oriented communications in which the customer is genuinely interested.

•Enhanced and empowered customer, after sales, and technical support. 

          Companies must begin to institute  conscious attempts to retain their customers before someone else gets in the door and tries to take them over. The whole idea is to have a retention strategy and immediately a sale has been made swing into action with inquiries about the good or service from the customer with a view to trying to ascertain that the need for which the purchase was made is met and service as well as advice is offered free of charge as part of the customer care portfolio. 

Measures you can take to retain your customers:

The current economic climate is causing customers to be more selective. As a result, many companies are losing customers at a rapid rate.  

1. Find out what customers want and what causes them to stay or leave.

First, conduct a survey with existing customers. Ask customers what they want and need, as well as which specific aspects of your business, products, services they value most. In addition, conduct a separate survey with former customers to find out what specifically caused them to leave.

2. Proactively collect and promote customer feedback.

Do not wait until there is a problem to contact or follow up with customers. Instead, set up communication channels to encourage sincere two-way communication with them, and then use those channels to actively solicit and collect their feedback.

Examples of customer communication channels include: a feedback link or feedback form on your company web site, focus groups, comment cards, in-person visits, e-mails, letters, user forums, surveys, etc.

3. Use technology to manage and analyze customer feedback, and ensure the right people hear it.

        Companies can easily have as many as 35 or more tools in place to listen to the customer. These tools frequently duplicate efforts and consume a tremendous amount of time and resources. By the time feedback is tabulated, analyzed and shared, the input is weeks or months old. 

4. Analyze customer feedback to gain valuable insights.

Once you’ve gathered feedback from customers, analyze it to find out:

 The type of customer feedback and the percentage in each category (complaints, suggestions, comments, concerns)

The channel most used by customers to provide feedback (Web, phone, in-person, etc.) 

5. Immediately address customers’ complaints and concerns. 

         If you can address customers complaints and concerns immediately or almost as soon as they are brought to you, you will retain customers because of your promptness. No one likes to be kept waiting least of all the customer who wants proper and tailored treatment from your organization no matter how big or small you are. 

•6. Take action and Measure the Results. 

         Lining up what you will do to retain your customers, a phone call or visit even when you are not selling anything, needs to be followed through. Once you have started doing it then you can measure the effect 

•7. Actively measure and monitor your customers’ loyalty and engagement. 

         Using data based on frequent customers and their purchase behavior you can measure loyalty and determine if your engagement strategies have worked. 

•8. Create and nurture a company culture that embraces and is committed to using customer feedback. 

        Once you have started these strategies and approaches in your company you must makes sure it is sustained on an organizational or at least a departmental level. It should be part of the DNA of the organization. 

•9. Keep asking, listening, analyzing and improving.

       The customer is always right when it comes to quality of goods and services, so listen to him.  

 

Things to note about personal growth!

Personal growth should lead to promotion: the upward movement that increasingly frees you to do more thinking and than actual doing. In a Human Resource Management seminar the debate took place about why bosses who seem to do less actually receive more pay for seemingly being idle! The bosses compensable factors had to be stressed. Picture that all important meeting in your office for instance, a group of foot soldiers sit around the conference table with all manner of documents at hand and various sizes of laptops open to spread sheets and presentations. Then the big boss enters the room with very little. Why is that? Well he was not hired run computers, maintain schedules and carry files! Most bosses are hired for their expertise in a certain area and because of the power of the ideas. In the modern corporate world, organizations want people with the best kind of ideas to be in leadership. So that is why in competitive environments, the promotions and upliftment would go to the men and women who show initiative and potential for growth. How frequently can you generate new ideas in your work environment? Do you show aptitude for learning, are you  well informed, quick to understand things and willing to learn more?
Human resource studies show that there are a category of people who lose interest in their career after a period of time. If you have high levels of intensity and creativity you are not likely to lose interest, rather you are more likely to be spurred into finding a better way to do the job. Growth oriented people are too busy trying to stretch and break records, do the unimaginable and top their category in performance rather than being bogged down by petty details of the day.  Try this: spend more time expanding your knowledge and experience and see what effect it has on your person and your career! Your interest levels and excitement are bound to reach new heights!
When you stop growing there is a tendency for you to stop enjoying your work. The person who is growing continually in knowledge and experience never gets tired. He is always looking for the next level of achievement, the next milestone to meet, the next tape to breast. One way to stay fresh is to start spreading your knowledge or know how. Help other people to grow. See where and how you can identify useful knowledge and information and spread it among the people that need it or could use it! You would be amazed at what would happen. Create a curious mind for yourself. See how many ways a problem can be solved. List the different kinds of would-be solutions and imagine scenarios. Personal growth should help you focus on people, find out what they need and see how you could provide it. When you focus on people, people will focus on you!  It all begins with you questioning yourself: How can I...... Curiosity and drive are often more powerful than intelligence. Intelligence can be of great use, but most of what you need to complete tasks and bring projects to an end and search for new ideas and solutions is found in drive. So drive yourself to personal growth and see if you do not move up!

My learning curve

A question of ethics: Is what I am doing wrong or right?

The world's ethical preoccupation has gone to hell. Nobody cares about rules and regulations anymore. The end justifies the means, who cares how you did as long as you get it done? At a seminar on Management and Administration, I had the opportunity to discuss ethics and ethical dilemmas. The topic made me reflect on the kind of leadership we have in major organizations around the world today and even in countries. Everyone is talking about results these days, not many people are concerned about how those results are attained. Did we go by the book, use a little blackmail, arm-twisting, inducement or extra ordinary persuasion that borders on the ethical? Meet your targets, the boss says, do what you have to do as long as you get what the organization wants. 
If you believe in right and wrong, you will once in while find yourself in an ethical dilemma! Picture the situation you are in, in a sector where everyone is cutting corners to make profit. They know its wrong, you know its wrong. You are lagging behind in your profits and targets would you do it or not? What if you are getting queries for non performance?
Here's the catch: you ought to be able to get the job done within the ethical frame work of the organization and without cutting corners and going against your own principles and beliefs that are based on morals. 
Reviewing the following questions help to serve as a guide to what is ethical and what is not, what is wrong and right. Even if you do not want to answer, your mind will tell you the right answer.

—

Is it legal/ethical?

—Does it feel right?

—How would it look in the newspaper?

—Will it reflect negatively on you or the company?

—Who else could be affected by this?

—Would you be embarrassed if others know about your course of action?

—Is there an alternative action that does not pose an ethical conflict?

—Is it against your policy?

—What would a reasonable person think?

—Can you sleep at night?

The yes/no answer will help you know if you working on the right path.  

Growing a farm from subsistence to large scale: Bottoms up!

Alsatian

Pitbull

Its amazing what you can cram into a little space. At my house in Ota, Ogun State of Nigeria I have goats, banana trees and fish ponds. I like to believe that its a sign of what's to come. I see myself retiring to a serene easy going life on a large farm where I will grow crops for both subsistence and market produce business as well as raise animals. We started the fish with dismal 2000 and the goats with one female. For the fish we have to buy fingerlings but the goats have begun to multiply by themselves. Land is the challenge. I am looking for one acre even though I do not have the cash to buy it yet. But you know what they say: where there is a will there is always a way.
If I have my way, will not stop at the goats, fish and bananas. I fancy myself raising dogs. Not mongrels. Rare breed. There is a security alert in Nigeria today and part of the self sufficiency of the successful business person is  to rely on as few people as possible. There is no doubt that security demands that people should have dogs, so that they can send miscreants away with a bark. But imagine a doberman, Alsatian or pit bull biting its way into an unwanted intruders thigh. The bite will maim the person for life. He will limp like Jacob in the bible who had an angel dislocate his leg.
The focus for many people in Nigeria today is to see what they can do for themselves. The chances of getting a loan are very slim. The agricultural loans that government is singing a song about are for a chosen few. Not everyone can have the opportunity to get them.  So those of us who don't have access have to fight for ourselves.
The soil around the house is very fertile. We have grown green vegetables from that soil. Spinach and Okra to be specific. Although, as we approach the dry season I am aware that those crops will be difficult to raise unless we are ready to consistently water them.
We could do a lot on a acre of land. I understand that poultry farmers have a large demand for maize. I have been thinking that instead of bothering myself with chicken perhaps I should just grow the components of their feed for them. The feed market is another big business. Animal feeds are known to constitute a large proportion that goes into the agricultural market. Fish feed, Chicken feed, goats and cows also have their mash and concentrate that enables them to attain maximum weight for sale. It is said that farmers spend more raising their livestock than they spend on themselves in a life time. The difference is that they get it back through sales.Both chicken and fish feed have hit the roof in terms of prices per kilo in Nigeria. The tragedy for fish feed is the non availability of starter, a component needed to help grow the stock while they are still young. The components comprise of high proteins substances that give fish and chicken the wherewithal to grow to table size. The protein foundation is critical to their survival. Sadly, Nigerian companies have not been able to make much headway with the production of starter feed. Farmers have to rely on imports which are too expensive an investment for the farmer who wishes to break even from his sales. Some farmers  have started milling their own feed so as to reduce their reliance on the imports, but the components are difficult to understand for maximum effect. Most farmers are experimenting. For the fish feed, we find that locally milled feed does not float so the fish hardly get to eat it before it sinks and the farmer would end up draining massive residue with dirty water when he decides to drain the ponds.
Once the land is acquired me and my family have a lot of experience to use on the main farm. I have 20 ponds in mind to raise about 50,000 fish every four months, 100 goats, 20 dogs and at least two plots of banana trees and maize. It would be a worthy investment.

Maize farm

“80 percent of your sales will come from 20 percent of your clients !

Sorry if this sounds like Pareto but:
 “80 percent of your sales will come from 20 percent of
your clients"
...... and those 20 percent are the people you
are going to have long term relationships with.”


Know your Customers: When your product what you
are selling is the product as well as yourself to the customers. You need to know
  who your customers are and what medium they
would find useful. Find out what your customers do and
what thy read and buy. This knowledge of their habits
will benefit you in infinite ways.                                                                    
You need to know how educated they are, what they own,
what they might want to own, how much money they have.
You should not place  any promotions until you have
conducted solid   research. For example, how
many of your customers own a business? If your customers
are people who need security companies because they
own small businesses, there will be all sorts of other
services they will also need, such as short term
insurance and transportation.                                                                               

One thing you know already about your customers: You
know they are enlightened. If you are reaching the educated        
elite. They will probably want to educate their                            
children. Find out what courses are available for
learning in your country. They are
probably also interested in books. Find out what kinds
of books they like to read.
                                                                                                          

Know your product: Above all, you need to know your
product. You need to know the  quality and availability and have
proof of it.  You need to know where its available.


Developing Categories or variations of your product.
A number of categories of potential clients and
markets that can be developed, if you do that. You also need to                                                                 develop expertise about each category
about these products. You could start looking to find
out what you can learn about them them  

Prospecting clients: 80 percent of sales come from 20
percent of clients. Those 20 percent are the people
you are going to have to build the long-term
relationship with. You are also going to constantly be
trying to get more of your clients into this second
category. When you are prospecting clients you must
ask yourself a few key questions:

First, have they got a budget? Will they be able to
pay for regular products?
Second: Will they benefit from consistent purchases?


Are they reselling at a profit and using your products
as a major process?


Building your Client List: Once you’ve prospected your
clients, you need to begin to build up your client
list.
You do this two ways:
Develop your relationship with existing clients: If
they are still happy with you and still consider
themselves your client, nurture this relationship. If
they have purchased before, it is likely they will
 do it again. So start with your old clients from
your archives.  
Prospect for new clients: How are you going to do
this? Get the clients from your competition!


Keeping track of your clients: When you have developed
a category of clients, you are going to starting
building up your list of contacts. If you are working
with a contact book, you are going to need another
book where you put down the day’s date and you write
down and make notes on every phone call and every
visit you make. You might think this is a lot of
trouble, but it is like gold, because two months or
six months later, you’ll pick up the phone and you’ll
say to them what they told you when they spoke to you
some months ago and they’ll think ‘this person is
brilliant’.

Find a system that works for you! If you don’t already
have a method of building up a contact list, maybe you
can start this afternoon. Buy a book, or start a card
system. Or use a computer. The important thing is to
chose a system that works Even if
just write one sentence about a single phone call!