What are Your Keys to Keeping Clients?

We work hard to acquire new customers / clients. What would happen if instead of looking at a client as a single commission, we looked at our clients as an annuity - a lead that keeps on giving - it makes sense to work just as hard on retention. If you work with a team or have employees working for you, here are some things you might want to consider. If you are a lone soldier, then these may also apply to you.

TAKEAWAYS:

• Customer / Client service is Job #1
• Care states with Front-Line Employees
• Stay on top of Service Policies

Now more than ever, client retention is critical. With increasing target marketing, ever more choices, it's easier for a disgruntled client to take their business elsewhere. Here are six possibilities to keep those clients

Treat client service as an investment rather than an expense. Calculate the cost of losing just one client per month - the long term expense is shocking. "A client who buys or sells once every 7 years, national average, let's say that your commission is 2.5% of the sale price and the average price of a home today is $100,000 that is $210,000 in lost commissions after 7 years, even higher if you commission level is higher. This puts Customer Service in a different light.

Never let rude employees deal with clients. Find people who are genuinely care about clients and want to do whatever is necessary to ensure their satisfaction. From there teach them the job skills they need to deliver superior Client Service.

Empower Employees to deliver Client Service. Make sure your employees have permission to circumvent company policy when necessary to take care of clients. "Policies are important, but they're not more important than keeping clients." Push the decision making down the organization to the frontline employees who have direct contact with clients.

Reward superior service. Employees who take superior client service to a new level warrant more than a hearty slap on the back. Be generous with bonuses and other perks - preferably delivered in front of other employees. Soon everyone in your company will get the message that clients really do matter.

Treat employees with respect. A willingness to reward employees for a job well done is a reflection of your awareness of their role in the client service equation. Employee's attitude toward clients is a reflection of how you treat them. Entrepreneurs who treat their employees with respect find that their employees, in turn, are likely to treat clients with respect.

Periodically examine your company's service policies. Have you ever tried to register a complaint about a service, only to be treated as though you should be featured on "America's Most Wanted"? Policies and procedures evolve over time, and often not for the better. How do your employees treat dissatisfied clients? Are they trying to make things right, or inadvertently suggesting the whole snafu in the clients fault? The goal is to look for policies and procedures that are not customer friendly that may have crept into your company's processes over time. Does your company's return policy treat all customers as if they were potential criminals?

The bottom line: Keeping existing clients is not only valuable, it's not that hard to do if you make it an ongoing priority.

What are your thoughts? Are you assistants helping to grow your business? Are you creating Raving Fans or just looking for the next customer? What would a handful or Raving Fans do for your business in 5, 10, 15 years from now?