1. How To Profitably Pamper Your
Customers
Regardless of the
industry you’re in, it is
critical to know which of
your customers are
profitable and which ones
strain your resources. If
the most extreme cases,
it could even make sense
to fire particularly
troublesome customers.
However, it is just as
important to go the extra
mile for your most
valuable customers and
reward them for their loyalty and continued business. Don’t just throw gifts at them,
though. Not only does a haphazard, untargeted approach decrease the likelihood that
your customers will remember or care about your efforts, but you will waste time and
money, as well.
In order to take a smart approach to customer appreciation, you first need to measure
the profitability of each customer. To get a complete view into the total costs for each
customer, all employees should track the time spent on any and all customer activities.
An automated time-tracking system will make it much easier to determine these costs
and will give you a vantage viewpoint into your company’s activities. Also consider any
value that your customers offer you aside from direct sales. Customers who are willing
to go the extra mile by referring new customers, participating in case studies, or
otherwise improving your brand can offer a great ROI for you, and that needs to be
considered.

2. Great customer service is always important, but aside from that, the best way to endear
your company to a customer is to deeply understand their needs. This may require a
time investment, but if you can understand what your customer wants, you can focus
your efforts to help them achieve it.
Position your company as an important part of your customers’ future strategies and
they will likely pay you back many times over. And you’ll be able to intelligently plot out
the appropriate amount of time for each customer since you already determined their
overall profitability.
Of course, not every customer will be responsive to your outreach efforts. Even if you
have determined that you can devote time to developing a relationship, some customers
just aren’t interested in anything beyond your core product. That is fine. Scale back your
efforts, but don’t completely cease them. Sometimes, persistence pays off.
Similarly, keep an eye to the future. Companies often change strategy and focus which
could present a future opportunity to reengage. Be ready to step up your activities when
it’s the right time for them.
The most successful targeted customer outreach programs are mutually beneficial.
We have implemented a deep integration with Microsoft Dynamics GP accounting
systems for some of our customers because our software is a flexible add-on to
Dynamics. Although we originally implemented this for just one customer, we have been
able to capitalize and expand on the success of the original offering.
If it weren’t for a specific instance of customer outreach, we wouldn’t have discovered a
profitable market for this business.
Take customer outreach seriously and treat it with as much respect as any other
business project. The results can be measured in your bottom line, and you may
uncover unexpected benefits that you might have otherwise missed.
Move forward intelligently, with an eye to your costs and capabilities, and the rewards
will be substantial.
Reference Link: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/12/how-to-profitably-pamper-
customers.html