As a business, you may be focusing all your attention on trying to find new customers; this is good for the short term. But are you neglecting your existing and loyal customers?

Existing customers are the ones that have helped you grow your business, maybe from the start, or maybe in the last few months. These customers should be the easier customers to market to as they are already involved and engaged with your brand and products.

An example of this would be someone with an Apple iPhone. Someone that has loyalty with this product may not need to be marketed to as much as someone with a Samsung. Loyal customers still, however, need engagement such as being updated on new products otherwise you may risk them moving on to a more exciting brand.

A way in which you can interact with your current customers, as well as new customers, is by offering them a deal on your products. This means that you’re drawing people in with a discount on a product they may have always wanted but haven’t investigated, and you’re also rewarding an existing customer with a discount on a product they love.

According to Econsultancy, 82% of companies agree that customer retention is cheaper than obtaining a new customer and is one of the main drivers of company revenue. This suggests that it is cheaper both in terms of time and money, to take care of your existing customers than it is spending time obtaining new customers. This, however, doesn’t mean that you need to stop marketing to new customers but find a 50 /50 split in marketing to your existing customers and new customers.

Ways to market with existing customers

  • Provide weekly updated news
  • Monthly emails
  • Monthly newsletter (a round-up of information from the month)
  • Special offers specifically for existing clients

Below are 10 strategies that will help you implement a new strategy that allows you to engage with, and retain, your existing customers, as well as finding new leads. If you follow these simple steps, you will grow your customers at a steady pace and create more loyal customers rather than one-off customers.

Customer retention

A satisfied customer is a loyal customer! If you carry out a yearly or quarterly customer feedback survey, this demonstrates to your existing customers that you care about their opinion and contribution to their service experience. When you have then listened and implemented these changes to the service you provide, you are more likely to increase customer retention and recommendation.

The tool we use for gathering this information is Survey monkey; it’s a great way to compose a survey. It suggests questions that are frequently used by others and provides a link to your survey for you to add into an email.

In Summary

Your existing customers are the cogs of your business; if you dedicate all of your time to new leads, then you are going to lose your loyal customers that you have built up over time.  If you follow these ten strategies and market to both your new and existing customers, your business will grow steadily.