Loyal Customers

When there is an interaction with a customer, they feel a sort of bond and it opens up some interesting possibilities. But to take maximum advantage of this condition, you need to accomplish two things.

1) You need to allow him to teach you what he wants- i.e., you have to provide the opportunity for this to happen. The best salesmen 1st will sit and ask questions to let the potential customer tell them what it is that they really want. Once they know the hot buttons, they can gear the presentation accordingly. It is the same approach for any selling opportunity. As discussed in “What is Your Market?”, you need to ask them and allow them to tell you what they are really after, which basic human desire that they want fulfilled.

2) Once you have determined the basic desires of what they want, you need to shift gears and become the teacher of all that they need to know to make your product or service better fulfill their desires. If they are buying a refrigerator, you need to be the point of learning about how to best use a refrigerator. How to reduce spoilage, how to save on the electric bill, cleaning and maintenance. The more you can teach them things that are actually useful to them, and keep teaching them, (maybe with a newsletter), the more loyal a customer they will be to you. It’s because of your “added value” of being useful to them that breeds loyalty, not because of your prices. Prices can be matched or eventually beaten.

The more incentive that you can deliver for loyalty, the more margin you then can obtain on each sale.

As described later, it’s desire that determines value and price! Competition for price and service are becoming of a higher level than ever before. Therefore, interaction with customers becomes the most effective way to maintain a loyal relationship with both customers and profits! If they believe that you will satisfy them, it becomes a comfort and a convenience value to them, and price becomes a minor or non-issue! Honesty becomes mandatory to maintain a loyal customer base, along with doing what’s in their best interests.

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