Last Updated on May 28, 2023 by Dave Schoenbeck
The book Never Lose a Customer Again by Joey Coleman is an excellent reminder that customer retention, client delight, and the lifetime value of clients are all critical to small business success.
Unfortunately, it’s almost always easier and cheaper to sell more to existing clients than to seek new ones. Here’s what Coleman has to say about making it happen.
Creating High-Quality Customer Experiences
In Never Lose a Customer Again, Coleman posits that a company has only 100 days to make an impression on a customer. During this time, the relationship you build with your customer will determine whether they will purchase again. Successful relationships will result in customers buying and recommending your products to others.
During this time, the customer cycles through eight interaction stages with your products or services. Unfortunately, people lose customers by not being attentive enough during these stages and not understanding the emotional journey accompanying each purchase.
These eight stages of the customer experience are:
- Assess: In this stage; the customer is still considering buying your product. This is the research phase, during which the customer weighs their options and evaluates the pros and cons. Building trust during this phase is essential by providing proper education about your products via your website, email marketing, blog posts, and more.
- Admit: This is the purchase phase. The customer has agreed to buy your product or service. This is an exciting time for the customer, and you can harness that energy by exceeding their expectations.
- Affirm: This is the period between the customer’s purchase and the product’s delivery. After that, initial excitement wears off, but the customer might feel buyer’s remorse before they’ve received the product. You can ease these feelings by staying in touch and ensuring the product arrives quickly.
- Activate: Finally, the customer has received your product or service. This is their first impression. It would be best if you made sure to deliver on every promise you made during the marketing process and then some. Wow, them with your packaging, include free samples or discount codes, and provide delightful customer service if they have questions.
- Acclimate: The customer is getting used to your product, but they haven’t mastered it yet. Be proactive with tutorials, email newsletter check-ins, simple instructions, and extraordinary customer service.
- Accomplish: If all goes well, your product has accomplished precisely what the customer needs. Your communications should remind them of this and mention other products or services that they might find helpful.
- Adopt: At this stage, the customer is happy with your company and satisfied with their purchase. You can form a long-term relationship with the customer through VIP treatment, like exclusive discounts or product announcements for insiders. You can also continue to upsell them on more advanced products or services.
- Advocate: Finally, you have a loyal customer. This occurs at the end of the 100 days and continues long after. Customers in this phase are motivated to refer your products and services to others and purchase again. Continue to communicate to maintain this relationship over time.
By communicating effectively throughout these eight phases of the customer experience, you can create a customer retention marketing strategy that works for your business.
Did you enjoy this Never Lose a Customer Again summary? Coach Dave is an expert on client delight and customer retention. Click here to schedule a complimentary video coaching meeting to discuss customer experience marketing in your business.
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