CUSTOMER RETENTION
How to Cement Your Relationships with Customers
TIM BECKER
Starting with the moment you land a sale, your customer relationship evolves through different stages. Just as people at different stages of life have different needs, your customers have different needs and expectations for different stages in the customer relationship. When you’re able to meet or exceed those expectations, you improve your odds of developing a lasting relationship that’s profitable for both of you.
Learn to recognize each phase of your customer’s buying life cycle, then implement the tips that follow to help you deliver great service dur- ing each one.
CUSTOMER CREATION Customer creation includes all the steps a salesperson takes to cultivate customers. Researching and pinpoint- ing target markets and prospecting for new clients are all important ele-
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ments of customer creation. To successfully “create” customers, salespeople must know which mar- kets to target and which prospects to pursue. Customer creation continues with the salesperson’s initial customer contact, needs analysis, and the process of matching product features and benefits to customer needs. At this stage, product knowledge, honesty, and trust-building are critical to sales success. The close of the sale also marks the close of the creation phase.
CUSTOMER INFANCY After their first purchase, buyers pass through a stage comparable to infancy in the human life cycle. Like infants discovering the world around them, your customers are making new and important discoveries about you, your company, and the product or service
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