Learn more by downloading your free copy of 10 Secrets for Successful Customer Relationship Marketing without cost or obligation.

1. Get back in touch with old customers. It’s all too easy to ignore your old customers, but they are often your best source for new business. Sometimes sending a personal note, making a phone call or inviting an old customer to lunch is all it takes to rekindle a business relationship. Also, consider a “Welcome Back” offer, such as a freebie or a discount when they resume doing business with you.

2. Let your customers help you out. Business is always a two-way street. Some customers you’ve helped in the past may be glad to return the favor. Often, all you have to do is ask. There are two things you can ask for: testimonials and case studies, which you can use in your sales presentations and advertising; and if you have an influential customer who’s appreciative of what you’ve done, ask that customer to write and send an endorsed letter to others recommending your business. Offer to pay for the printing and postage, and help with the writing if necessary.
   

3. Give extra attention to high-integrity behavior. To set yourself apart in the marketplace, go out of your way to conduct business in an especially trustworthy manner. Bend over backwards when it comes to refunds and exchanges. Do all you can to act in your customers’ best interest, even if it means referring them to a competitor (if you don’t think you’re the best choice for what they want). If you get (or strengthen) a reputation for being trustworthy, that can be the most precious marketing asset of all.

Act now to download your free copy of 10 Secrets for Successful Customer Relationship Marketing without cost or obligation.

While loyalty marketing experts say it’s becoming increasingly important for small businesses to boost their online presence, particularly in social communities, they say the following customer retention tactics also should not be ignored:

1. Rewards program. Less than a quarter of small businesses surveyed in the Forbes Insights study had tried a customer loyalty program — and it’s not just for the big brands. Consider emulating Borders bookstores, which provide a free membership card in exchange for an email address. Customers receive weekly emails with coupons and in-store promotions. Borders’ competitor, Barnes and Noble, charges a small monthly fee for its rewards program but offers discounts on anything purchased in the store. Consider an option that best fits your business, or develop an entirely different customer retention program altogether.

2. Frequent buyer program. Eighty percent of survey respondents had never tried a frequent buyer program for their business. This valuable tactic, similar to a rewards program, calls out your best customers and gives them special attention and perks.

3. Activity and volume tracking. Avoid working blindly by keeping track of how your customers spend their money with you. That is the best way to implement a frequent buyer program, and it also opens the door for product suggestions.

4. Customer newsletters. Anything you can do to strengthen the connection between you and your customers is the key for building customer loyalty for a brand. Keep in touch with a weekly or monthly newsletter, either through email or in print, as a personal way to keep your customers engaged and happy.

— Laura Paquette

“Engagement” is more than just a marketing buzzword — it’s the critical component to the success of every marketing endeavor you launch. Ensure that your next campaign produces great results by downloading your free copy of 5 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers without cost or obligation.

• Have a clear goal. Your goal should be attainable and in line with the “game.” Remember that goals can be intermediate steps in the buying process. For instance, your game may focus on driving customers to your Web site, keeping your brand top of mind through press coverage, or elevating your customer retention program.

• Strip down. Try to make your game easy to play — you want as many people as possible to engage with your company. Though it may be tempting to ask participants to fill out a survey before they register for a contest, it may discourage people from playing at all. Try to get those who play to increase their engagement over time by sending your survey to the email address they registered with a few weeks earlier.

• Choose prizes carefully. Money, exclusive privileges, products, and a sense of achievement can all motivate consumers to participate in your game. Be sure to choose the one that makes the most sense for your company’s budget and the game itself. For example, a sweepstakes should focus on something tangible, while a recipe contest could do very well based on achievement alone.

• Cash in on publicity. People are obsessed with winning and with watching other people win (think television game shows), so be sure to make your contestants’ successes public. This will add value to your game and also give you rich publicity opportunities while building customer loyalty for your brand.

— Jessica Saint Jean

“Engagement” is more than just a marketing buzzword — it’s the critical component to the success of every marketing endeavor you launch. Ensure that your next campaign produces great results by downloading your free copy of 5 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers without cost or obligation.

1. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. To best serve existing customers, you have to understand what it is they are trying to achieve, who the decision makers are on their end, and how they operate, according to customer retention expert Colleen Francis of Engage Selling Solutions. She recommends having your salespeople write up a detailed account plan for your top customers. In it, include a review of the customer’s industry, their position in that industry, potential threats to their position (competition), and any customer satisfaction results. Share this dossier within your company to brainstorm ideas as to how you can maximize opportunities.

2. Consider “blue light” specials. Yes, K-Mart was doing them back in the day, and they work just as well for growing businesses in the Internet age (minus the light of course). According to Annie Wolock, owner of the e-marketing firm Keystone Media, special promotions are a great way to keep existing customers engaged. She recommends regular email promotions segmented by demographic, latest purchase, and money spent. By keeping customers “in the know” with special deals and discounts, they’ll feel special and more connected to your business.

3. Focus on service. Exemplary service is a surefire way to consistently set your company apart from competitors and remain tops in the eyes of your customers. CustomerServiceManager.com points out that customers will usually remember you and become a fan based on a particularly memorable (and hopefully positive) experience. Whether it’s fixing a problem with a product or providing actual human support instead of a phone menu maze, the easier you make it for customers, the more satisfied they will be. And satisfied customers are engaged, lasting customers.

4. Ask and ye shall receive. This may sound a bit over simplistic, but talk to your customers. Ask them questions; find out what it is you can do to keep them coming back. As Engage Selling Solutions’ Francis points out, finding the right questions first is paramount. Questions that reveal true buying motivations and get the customer engaged will lead you down the right path. Avoid falling into the realm of non-specifics and instead ask probing questions that clearly reveal expectations.

5. Do what you say. Proper follow-through is the sign of a great tennis or golf swing. It’s also a differentiator between a successful businessperson and a wannabe. You must be consistent from start to finish and show a customer that what you promise in the beginning is what you deliver in the end.

Think about it. When was the last time you received a handwritten card from someone that you recently did business with? Can’t remember? Probably because you never have. However, think how good you would feel if you did. Now, how about making your customers or clients feel good? Feeling good fosters stronger customer relationships, which leads to more referrals and more business, Busse notes.

Want to run a more customer-centric organization? Discover the top five tips for quickly and easily implementing a superior customer service experience. Download your free copy of Better Than Good: Customer Service Tips That Boost Profits without cost or obligation.

One simple but effective customer retention idea Busse recommends is to invest in a package of cards. Not standard thank-you cards, but something that resonates with you. You might even want to have several designs for different client groups, for example, one with flowers on them, and another with a beautiful landscape. Then, any time you get a new customer or client, send a card thanking him or her for choosing to do business with your company. After all, they probably could have gotten the same product or service from another company. However, they chose to get it from you. Aren’t you glad they did? Of course you are. So tell them.

Follow these quick tips from Busse to show some love to your customers or clients. They’ll love you back through customer loyalty.

• Be timely. As part of a customer retention program, send a personal thank-you note in the mail within seven days of receiving business from a customer or client.

• Don’t send a cheesy corporate card. Instead, find something that represents you or your customer or client.

• Make it personal. If you’re just going to write “Thanks for your business” and sign the card, don’t bother, you are wasting a stamp. Write a short note thanking the person for the specific product or service they bought or the referral they made.

• Don’t skimp. While email is free and easy to do, it won’t stand out like a handwritten card would.

• Build the relationship. It’s a good idea to thank potential customers for contacting you about your products or services, even if you didn’t make the sale today. The buying process can be a long one. And if a buyer is thinking about making a purchase, you can keep your business top of mind with a timely communication.

Don’t let another day go by without thanking your customers or clients as well as the many people that help you. We all remember those who are appreciative of our business and help us — and we quickly forget about those who don’t. Which do you want to be?

Numerous studies have shown it requires far more cost and effort to reach new customers than to keep the ones you have. In today’s tough economy, with consumers taking a hard look at every dime they spend, a customer retention program is more important than ever.

Act now to download your free copy of 10 Secrets for Successful Customer Relationship Marketing without cost or obligation.

The recession presents some unique challenges to customer retention management. But the current climate also provides opportunity for businesses that know how and when to act. Here are four key customer retention strategies to help you keep your customers coming back:

1. Ask for feedback. Most dissatisfied customers will simply walk away from a business rather than make their displeasure known. That’s why it’s essential to be proactive about getting feedback. Madigan Pratt, whose Williamsburg, Va.–based customer relationship marketing firm Madigan Pratt & Associates works with hotels, suggests following up with customers to ask about their experience and invite them back. If they respond well, ask them to post a review on sites like Yelp or Angie’s List. “Send them an email with a link to make it easy for them,” Pratt adds.

Once you receive feedback, be sure to act on it. “When people feel like they’re being listened to, they’ll trust you more and be more engaged with your business,” says Debra Schmidt, author of Building Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out.

2. Expand your offerings. If you can expand your product or service line, you stand a better chance of continuing the relationship with customers who feel a need to tighten their budgets. Kate Zabriskie of Business Training Works in Port Tobacco, Md., provides this example: “Say you have a beauty salon. You can offer a mini treatment. Or if you’re a bakery that does high-end wedding cakes, consider a more affordable selection.”

If a customer has fallen by the wayside, consider offering a scaled-down service. “Your customers might not be able to afford your offering right now,” Schmidt says, “but you need to build bridges for when they do.”

3. Offer loyalty rewards. This tried-and-true technique remains powerful, especially if your customers perceive real value in the reward. You don’t need to break the bank to offer rewards like frequent-buyer discounts or a punch card good for free service after 10 visits.

Pratt cites a hotel client that invited guests to participate in an online photo contest, with a prize of a coupon for cocktails on the next visit. That approach can be adapted to just about any business. For example, an auto shop could create an online photo forum for local car enthusiasts, and reward a random winner with a tune-up; an outdoors store could create a forum for sharing camping and wilderness photos. Activities like these can also help foster a sense of community around a business.

4. Lead the conversation. Effective use of online communications tools is essential for owners of growing businesses. “The companies that aren’t out there in social media are missing out on conversations their customers are having about them,” says Bill Cusick, CEO of the customer experience consulting firm Vox Inc. in Chicago. “If you don’t get out there, someone will start an account about you.” Indeed, search the word “sucks” on Facebook, and among the results you’ll find hundreds of pages created by disgruntled consumers targeting companies large and small.

It takes more than just putting up a company page, though. Cusick stresses the importance of showing there’s a human being behind the interaction: “You have to have individuals that people can feel like they’re communicating with.” If you connect with your customers through Twitter, for example, use your first name and your company name as your handle.

For a smaller business, maximizing every resource is crucial. So if you do have downtime, there’s no better way to fill it than by solidifying your relationship with your most loyal fans.

Act now to download your free copy of 10 Secrets for Successful Customer Relationship Marketing without cost or obligation.

FuelNet: Why have old methods of creating customer loyalty become so ineffective?

Tisch: Customers are turning to new [communication] modes because of their stressful, hurried lives. Traditional customer loyalty techniques of marketing and advertising are losing their potency, while electronic forms of strategic communication, such as email and blogging, are growing in importance. Unfortunately for leaders, these new communication tools are forms that organizations have little or no control over.

FuelNet: Has the Internet impeded customer relationship marketing?

Tisch: If used properly, the Internet can be a tool for improving customer relationships, by making it possible for organizations to stay in close, direct touch with their most loyal customers, rather than relying on middlemen like retailers and professional service providers.

FuelNet: You talk about the importance of being “customer-centric” in your book. What exactly does that idea mean to you?

Tisch: A customer-centric organization realizes it is providing not just a product or service, but a total experience, beginning with the first moment that a person considers becoming a customer and extending until that experience becomes a memory.

FuelNet: How can you tell what level of service customers now expect?

Tisch: The best way is for senior management to monitor what their competition is doing. Then you know how your customer is being seduced. Go out in the field, visit Web sites, visit touchpoints — see what your competitors are doing. The Internet has made that much easier to do. You can easily and anonymously go to a competitor’s Web site or check out blogs to see not only what’s being written about your company, but what’s being written about the competition.

FuelNet: What are some of the best strategies for loyalty marketing and making a company’s products or services stand out?

Tisch: There are many, but the big ones are respecting the customer’s desire to be in control, creating opportunities to link with customers directly, planning your business around your customers and not your goods or services, and making sure your customer feels like an individual and not one of the masses. Consumers want a relationship with an organization that will truly enrich their lives. It’s up to marketers to provide them with experiences that are unique, memorable, delightful, comfortable, and deeply rewarding.

Act now to download your free copy of 10 Secrets for Successful Customer Relationship Marketing without cost or obligation.

1. Separate yourself from the pack. When businesses get mired in sales quotas, short-term goals, statistics, and so forth, the people inside those businesses become robotic. Their eyes are focused not on how the brand is doing, but on what the numbers tell them. When it comes to your customers, always be proactive.

2. Realize that perspective is everything. To really know how things are going at your company, you’ll have to step out of your own shoes and take a walk in those of your customers and employees. “When you [do this], you enlarge yourself,” Deming says. “Your perspective widens, and so does your concern about what’s important. The benefits you receive from changing your perspective will far exceed those reaped from a narrower focus that includes only the bottom line.”

3. Face the facts. You may or may not be aware of the Lake Wobegon effect, but it is a phenomenon from which many of us suffer. It’s the human tendency to think we are better than we actually are. And in business, the effects can be devastating. When you think your business is the best, you don’t work as hard to keep making it better.

4. Understand your company’s reach of influence. It’s important to focus on actions that show you understand your customers’ needs. Doing this will help your brand-building strategy and create customers who are ready to sing your praises.

5. Know that the easy way isn’t always best. Strategic communication tools such as email and instant messaging do not give you an opportunity to create emotional connections with your customers. Effective use of technology should help you streamline your operations, create new opportunities, reach a broader customer base, and reinforce your carefully developed brand identity marketing strategy.

Act now to download your free copy of 10 Secrets for Successful Customer Relationship Marketing without cost or obligation.

Roman advocates a process he developed called “consensual opt-in marketing” that involves using comprehensive research to learn what customers expect in a consensual relationship, how they want the marketer to behave, and how to sustain relevance over time. That knowledge allows a company to create opt-in relationship marketing programs tailored to its customers’ unique needs. According to Roman, consensual opt-in marketing efforts boast response rates up to 20 times higher than the industry average.

Kelly Mooney, co-author of The Ten Demandments, says the keys to successful customer relationship marketing across all industries are careful listening, a focused analysis of customer data, and a willingness to make changes to a marketing program on the fly. Mooney cites one big obstacle, however. “Too many companies define their customers as just this big blunt audience,” she says. “Segments have to become much sharper, more intimate, and more known throughout the company. It’s hard to give truly superior service if you don’t know who you’re talking to and what really matters to them.”

In the end, companies looking to satisfy today’s demanding customers may need to reexamine their priorities. “The focus has got to be on relationships,” Roman says. “If you get the relationship dynamics and satisfaction right, the revenue will follow.”

EmailLabs surveyed more than 400 Web marketers and found that less than 20 percent include any kind of goodbye message in their unsubscribe confirmations. Worse, only 10 percent make any outreach to entice subscribers to stay or find out why they are opting out.

Stefan Pollard, director of email marketing best practices at Lyris, offers these suggestions for turning an unsubscriber into a long-term customer:

Act now to download your free copy of 10 Secrets for Successful Customer Relationship Marketing without cost or obligation.

• Make it easy. In addition to providing multiple opportunities for opting out of an e-newsletter, companies should provide easy access to a user profile that gives subscribers other options besides simply ending the email relationship. A subscriber may just want to change the address an e-newsletter is sent to, or the frequency with which he or she receives messages.

• Make it quick. Only about half the respondents to the EmailLabs survey said they confirm unsubscribe requests instantly. Some continue to send messages within the 10-day window allowed by the CAN-SPAM Act. Pollard recommends an instant, polite message acknowledging that the request has been granted and thanking the subscriber for their patronage. This message could also offer other ways to get information.

• Make it obvious. No one likes tricks, so don’t hide your unsubscribe options in lighter or smaller type, or push them too far down in the body of your email. Earn the trust of your subscribers by keeping them in control of the messages they receive. An unsubscribe link that is in the same type and font size and located close to other live copy will help maintain a cordial and respectful customer relationship.