July 21, 2009
Every business on planet earth should be focusing on the crucial art of repeat business.
The cost and time to acquire a new customer is wasted if your customers never come back again.
This is even FAR worse.
What happens when they leave with a sour taste in their mouth and tell 10 others not to go there?
Not good. You will almost certainly not even know WHY they left.
They could be at dinner talking about you right this very moment and why they'll never do business with you again. That EXACT situation happened last night at dinner. This poor person doesn't even know we were chatting about them. But…we were. And…the reason we were is they fell way short of our expectations. When you fall far below someone's expectations of you, there's a very good chance that you'll never get that business back again. Keep that as a note in your head.
REPEAT BUSINESS VERSUS ONE TIME AND NEVER AGAIN
Which would you prefer??? Duh! Pretty obvious that we'd all prefer to get the repeat business…a customer who comes back again and again and again and continues to buy from us means SOLID revenue. And…better yet is that customer who sends constant referrals our way!! You best be taking care of those sending you referrals or you risk losing them as well, just like my guy I referred to in the video above. That valve is shut.
I have a friend of mine that is refusing to send referrals to someone who he has constantly sent business to for the simple fact that this individual shows virtually NO appreciation for the business he has gotten from him. The person who has been getting the referrals isn't even aware that that referral source is now completely shut off. It was an open valve of referrals, but no more. It could have easily been prevented.
Here's a very good question to ask.
What makes you go back to someone again and again and again versus “nope…never again will I do business with them”?
Repeat business is the kitty cat's meow when it comes to creating success in ANY business…in or out of network marketing. There are VERY SPECIFIC REASONS WHY people choose cater to places over and over again. You need to know what those reasons are!!
THIS COULD BE ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE BLOG POSTS ALL YEAR
…IF YOU PLAY ALONG AND CONTRIBUTE YOUR COMMENTS!!
Your comments and feedback are what will make this post the most valuable for everyone who reads it.
In fact…the more comments and contribution, the greater everyone will be able to learn BECAUSE we will all see some very common things that create repeat business. And, we'll all know exactly what things we should avoid doing which cause use to lose business.
I'm being serious here. I WANT YOUR INPUT.
THE SECRET TO REPEAT BUSINESS…
How Do We Get People to Buy Over and Over Again?
So…what's the secret to repeat business?
Having a good product isn't good enough. Your customers always have choices, including doing nothing.
Way back in the day when I first started studying under Direct Marketing Expert Dan Kennedy, I remember him talking about USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
A strong USP answers the question, “Why should I do business with you versus every other option, including doing nothing at all?”
It's one thing to have a USP…but you also have to deliver on it! Most network marketers don't have employees, so we don't have to worry about one of our minimum wage people BLOWING it for our business when we aren't present.
This happened last night. Think about this brick and mortar example for a second. We were at a pizza joint that has been exceptional every time we've been there, until last night. What if you owned a pizza joint and when you were there, everything ran perfectly, but when you're gone things fell apart? Running a company with employees creates an additional challenge for people because there are many “faces” to the business that are representing the brand and can significantly impact how well the business does. The service last night was not up to par from our prior experiences.
We ALL need to know exactly WHY PEOPLE GO BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN versus NEVER AGAIN. This could be the most valuable source of education and learning for all those who contribute here.
THIS IS WHERE YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED!!!
Why do you cater to businesses over and over again?
What makes you never go back to them again???
I want you to THINK ABOUT SOME BUSINESSES you've given money to in the past 6 months or so.
THINK about the actual experience.
Is this someone you'd go back to again and again? If so…WHY?
Is this a business you'll never return to in your life? If not…WHY?
ANSWERING THESE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT “REAL LIFE” EXPERIENCES WILL SERVE THIS ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND HELP PEOPLE LEARN WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO.
I'll give you a few examples in my life…and then I'd like to see this conversation continued below. Here are a handful of REAL LIFE experiences that I've had in the last six months.
My Painter: This guy crushed it in terms of the quality of his work. SUPREME. Amazing job. His pricing was really good…and he was SUPER PLEASANT to do business with. I will REPEAT for sure.
My Mortgage Guy: My most recent mortgage guy here in Oregon was exceptional. His attention to detail was also amazing…and he made me feel comfortable through the entire process. REPEAT for sure.
The INSURANCE AGENT: I didn't actually do business with him because of his attitude. I would have…but his desire to serve his customers didn't seem like a priority. I chose someone else…and I'd highly recommend people to NOT use him. NEVER RETURN.
My PREVIOUS INSURANCE AGENT: This guy was a stud all the way around. Superb customer service, available…always reachable…and most importantly, he was HELPFUL and IMMEDIATELY available during a desperate time of need. REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT. And…I'd happily send ANY referrals his way. If you're in Arizona and need an insurance agent, you want this guy!
THINK ABOUT SOME ACTUAL PEOPLE YOU'VE DONE BUSINESS WITH IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BY COMMENTING BELOW…
Is this someone you'd go back to again and again? If so…WHY?
Is this a business you'll never return to in your life? If not…WHY?
Your comments and contribution will help others discover what to do and what NOT to do when it comes to creating a raving customer base that keeps coming back to you again and again.
