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Five Insights On Increasing Profits through Value and Service

Guest post by: Melanie Benson Strick

Article Overview: Are you focused on lead generation or improving customer experience? It's 5 times more expensive to generate a new sale. The most profitable way to grow is to increase repeat sales and referral business and yet, over 65% of entrepreneurs spend a majority of the budget on new business. When you increase your value and service experience, you'll be able to generate more profitable growth from your most valuable asset - your current clients.

Five Insights On Increasing Profits through Value and Service



Not too long ago I read a book my friend Jim Palmer sent me called Stick Like Glue: How to Create an Everlasting Bond With Your Customer so They spend More, Stay Longer and Refer More! Here I was laying on a lounge chair at my favorite spa resort, The JW Marriott in Palm Desert, CA trying to relax but I was so excited with everything I was reading I was jumping out of my skin! Why?

Because Jim was saying everything I had been feeling for months.

He had written a book chock full of stories and tips about taking care of the customers you have instead of constantly churning thousands of new leads into sales every day. In our industry today I rarely see this in action. So many people are focused on lead generation, marketing and “closing” sales instead of developing stellar programs full of value and excellent delivery.

HERE’S AN INTERESTING FACT:

It’s actually 5 times more profitable to keep a current client happy than it is to spend all the time and money marketing and converting a new lead into a paying client.

This book impacted me so much that I immediately (upon returning home of course) picked up the phone and convinced Jim to co-lead a revolutionary new training program (it's called MARS -- Magnetic Attraction & Retention System) teaching entrepreneurs how to increase their bottom line with the clients they already have!

Anyway…here are five things I learned from Stick Like Glue that I think you’d like:

1. Happy customers who become raving fans are the surest way to a successful, profitable business.

In other words, a happy customer has experienced a value in what they purchased. But what about a “raving fans”? They have experienced something unique that they can’t wait to tell others about. Raving fans can wait to buy more from you, will refer you t their friends regularly and become lifetime loyal fans.

2. Business owners focus on selling more to grow. Entrepreneurs look for opportunities to create more value to create more wealth.

The fastest way to convert mediocrity into excellence is to turn up the fire on the value you offer. And I don’t mean add a bunch of crappy bonuses to a product launch to beef up your perceived value. I mean truly considering what the customer experience needs to be to ensure they get massive value from their investment in you.

From the purchase experience to the receipt of their purchase to how they use it, massive value can make the difference between a disappointed customer and a raving fan.

3. The fastest way to stand out from your competitors is to go the extra mile.

IN a world full of bottom line oriented business owners, the best way to stand out from your competition is to live and breathe “lifetime value” of a customer. When you understand what it’s worth to keep a customer who has already chosen you then sending gifts, saying yes to crazy requests and finding ways to keep them happy over the long term is nothing short of good business sense!

4. Excellent service starts at home.

The first thing any savvy business owner must do is create a culture of excellence. It starts in our own minds when we finally get that spending $100 to keep a $1,000 client happy is an EXCELLENT investment. But what about how we extend that culture of excellence into the rest of our world? Are we investing in quality team members and treating them with excellence? Do we keep our word with strategic partners and go the extra mile with them to show them how important they are?

Offering massive value and excellent customer service doesn’t stop with the customer – it should permeate EVERYTHING we touch in business.

5. When it comes to taking care of good customers, you can be right or you can have a bigger bank account.

Imagine a customer bringing you a complaint that is completely crazy. You know it’s not the way it happened but you also know that keeping a good customer happy is more important than being right. Why? Because sometimes a small concession on your part will turn an unhappy customer into a raving fan.

In Stick Like Glue, Jim shared a story about a guy trying to return a “defective” pool table. Jim knew what the guy was doing but because he lives and breathes “lifetime value” he took care of the client anyway. The guy referred three new table sales (at least a 300% ROI.)

The reason I’m so excited about this book, and the MARS Training Program Jim and I created around this philosophy is simple. It’s time for a shift in the world away from the “what can I get” mentality of business to the “what can I give.” I can’t think of a better way to be a catalyst than to help as many entrepreneurs as possible discover how simple it is to be a leader through offering massive value and excellent service.

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Article Tags: customer service, entrepreneur success strategy, jim palmer, lead generation, melanie benson strick, profitable growth, referrals, repeat business



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