Customer Retention

We had great success with books this year with a hand written note inside.

Of course the suggestion was that you enjoy it by the pool over the summer break with a glass of wine!

If you use gmail, you should give Streak a look,

https://www.streak.com/

I've used it before and found it helpful. But it isn't an entire CRM ecosystem, so pick one based on your specific needs.

I believe there are some consistent things you can do regardless of the industry or size of your venture to impress clients.

• Position yourself as an extension of their business, a trusted partner not just a vendor.
• Always respect your clients regardless how they treat you
• Show them that you trust their company and the work you do together
• Show them that they can trust your company and judgment
• Be transparent with clients and respect their time
• Be authentically grateful for their current and future business
• Remind them from time to time what sets your venture apart
• Lastly, surprise them with great gestures

I have had three clients that were 'difficult' in the past year.

Two were because I offered a discount or free service at one point.

The third was unforeseen.

I now do my best not to attract 'difficult' people to my business. I have clear processes in place and do not advertise discounts or provide free services.

Probably information on expected pricing or price tolerance.

Overall, you can get many of these signals without needing to read their minds if you apply yourself. You can tell a great mixture of things based solely on, posture, facial expression, tone of voice, level of eye contact and the number of questions they are asking.

Never settle for a yes or no. Probe deeper by asking one or more follow up questions until you feel you've achieved the level of detail you needed.

As both Greg and Jef mentioned, you need a plan in place before you talk to soeone from these companies.  They are "hard sell" sales people and will pressure you into a deal you're not happy with. "If you sign up today, I'll give you an extra 5% of the commission" type thing.

The only way to make this work for you is to offer a service that requires minimal manpower to provide.  Offering a massage for $30 is not going to help - your staff will get angry as will your other clients when they can't get a spot because you are full. Now, an infra sauna on the other hand requires minimal manpower to prep/clean and would still give a reasonable profit margin (assuming you already had the asset).

Offer something that requires them to buy something or return.  Using the massage example again, You voucher could be for $50 massage with a voucher redeemable for a second massage at $50.  This way your margin is higher and you are enticing them for a second visit, where YOU get all the revenue, not the group buying site.

Be aware, depending on which company is used, the % revenue they take can be from 30% to 70%, giving you the raw end of the deal.  

My last piece of advice is set a limit to the number of vouchers sold and stick to it.  Do not let them talk you out of it.  There is noting worse than waking up and finding you have sold 3,000 vouchers, in a service based business, knowing you can not fulfil them before the expiry date.  Asking for the deal to be stopped early will fall on deaf ears.

I've seen many businesses close after trying to provide these deals, but I have seen a few run very smart campaigns.  As long as you know what your usual cost per acquisition is and stick to that, you should be fine.  

You need to be aware of your obligations under Australian Consumer Law relating to consumer guarantees. I suggest you visit the ACCC website about consumer guarantees and when extended guarantees are illegal. Under Australian Consumer Law there is already inbuilt consumer guarantees that relate to the product and repair guarantees without the need to purchase extended warranties. Choice has also undertaken some work in this area.