Customer loyalty is key…look no further than your own back door.

As a franchisee, getting and retaining customers is crucial. Customer loyalty is probably the most important marketing program you could and should invest in.

Creating customer loyalty is essential to business success as loyal customers spread goodwill for your business; they generate repeat sales and the cost to market to loyal customers is a fraction of the cost of finding new customers. In fact, statistics show that a loyal customer is worth ten times the value of a single purchase customer.

So you have a good customer base…shouldn’t you be focusing on finding new customers? Well the answer is yes and no. Finding new customers and increasing your “fan base” is important, however consider this:

• Loyal customers account for higher buying rates and a lower marketing costs than new customers
• Loyal customers are less of a business risk as they have a history with you already
• Loyal customers are a great resource for new leads and referrals

Whether a customer buys from you once or hundreds of times, your initial investment to “get their business” is the same. What does change however is the “return on investment” which changes dramatically the more that customer buys from you.

Customer Loyalty = Repeat Purchases = Higher Sales = Lower marketing investment

Customers simply want their needs and expectations met or better yet exceeded. They want:

• Value for their money
• To be greeted and served promptly
• To feel valued and appreciated
• To know that if there is an issue that they will be taken care of with efficiency and sensitivity

Loyal customers are the foundation to any successful business and as franchise owners you need to market to their needs. Yes, we all need to find new customers to continue to hold and build our market share but marketing to existing customers is cost effective, easier to target and your return on investment is always greater than mass marketing your product or service. When you’re looking for that added or increased sale, look no further than your own back yard….your existing customer base.