How to make a new client permanent. Regular customers: remember them and give them special treatment

Regular customers: Businesses use different ways to retain them and show special treatment. But is it enough to use such ordinary tools as discounts and various privileges? Let's look at how a special attitude towards service can demonstrate that regular customers are a special value of the company and the attitude towards them is also special.

First, here are a few examples in which regular customers receive special treatment during the service process.

The office where I work has a small cafe on the ground floor where you can have lunch, but they also serve breakfast. I am a frequent visitor to the cafe, where I often encounter the administrator, chef and other cafe employees. So, the employees always greet me, even just when they meet me in the hall.

A small fruit and vegetable shop near the house. There is one salesman who often works in the shop and remembers me because I am a frequent visitor. Now he always politely greets me, even if I’m just passing by, and of course when I return for another purchase. He also remembers what I buy and informs me about new products and advises me to try something. I notice that other regular customers also receive special treatment.

The hairdresser I go to regularly for a haircut no longer asks what exactly needs to be done. She remembers my preferences and just does her job without any questions asked.

All these people don’t know who I am, why I chose their business or them personally. They only know that I am a regular, regularly paying customer. As a sign of gratitude and respect for my loyalty, they pay special attention to me as a regular customer.

Regular customers are the greatest value in any business, so they deserve special treatment. Treating your loyal customers special is one of the most powerful tools in creating an outstanding shopping experience.

• Highlighting regular customers creates a special friendly, welcoming and warm atmosphere;
• Special treatment for a regular customer shows respect and emphasis on the part of the business expressed by its employees;
• Highlighting regular customers shows personal recognition and respect (something we so rarely receive on a daily basis);
• When regular customers receive personal treatment, they are receiving luxury service that is traditionally found in high-end locations but can actually be provided anywhere.

In some businesses, regular customers number in the tens and hundreds, and it is impossible to remember everyone. Modern information technologies come to the rescue, allowing employees to provide personal service to regular customers whom they are seeing (or not seeing) for the first time. For example, in a taxi company, of which I am a regular customer, the operators determine my name by phone number and immediately address me by name. They can also see my frequent travel routes and quickly confirm the route without any questions. In the Nespresso chain of coffee boutiques, salespeople see the customer's name on the screen (all customers have membership cards) and address all customers by name. This creates a personalized service that sets this business apart (as well as many other elements) and in such a business all customers are regulars, since all ponies receive special service.

When loyal customers are treated with respect, it creates a special shopping experience. For a business, attention to regular customers creates in the latter a real attachment to the business, based on personal positive experience (and not on tricks and insignificant handouts). Attachment to the business is translated into recommendations, which in turn results in an influx of new clients. These new clients come with positive expectations already in place. If a business is able to satisfy and exceed them, then it gains a growing population of loyal customers. Not a complicated theory, right? However, how many businesses have made this theory a profitable practice?

To make your regular customers feel special, follow these simple rules:

• Remember regular customers and customers who visit you often;
• Don’t forget to show them that you know them, remember their habits, wishes, preferences;
• for each visit;
• As much as tact allows, try to communicate with your clients on topics appropriate to the situation, learning something about your clients that will help you in the future to provide them with special attention and service;
• Maintain a list of regular customers and store important information about them;
• If possible, provide regular customers with material signs of attention: individual discounts, offers and others that are not burdensome for the business, but noticeable to the client.

However, while showing special treatment to regular clients, it is important not to forget about clients whom you do not yet know, but who may be nearby. It is important to develop a certain model of behavior with regular clients, in which they receive due attention, but at the same time, “ordinary” clients do not feel left without your attention and disrespect.

Are you a regular customer somewhere? Are you noticed, remembered and given special treatment? Does this please you? If you have regular customers, do you show them your special attitude?

And one last thing. We, clients, in everyday life are accustomed to being surrounded by impersonal masks worn on the faces of those people to whom we give the opportunity to earn money. Business employees are used to seeing the same faces of customers. When business employees begin to distinguish customers' faces, remember them and get to know them better, they cease to be just masks. And for clients, business employees also become not just “salespeople”, “waiters”, “clerks”. There are real people behind the labels. Relationships arise based on human understanding and respect. A connection arises between two people. This connection brings value to a business relationship that is not measured by monetary gain, but which both parties certainly have to their mutual satisfaction and joy.

HOW TO MAKE A CLIENT REGULAR?
Skriptunova E., Tarelkina T.
"Atelier", No. 7, 2001.

“A woman in a chic fur coat walks into an expensive boutique, the seller immediately pays attention to her and warmly greets her: “Hello! What would you like to buy, can I help you with something?" The woman answers very embarrassedly: "The fact is that I was in such a hurry to see you that I left my wallet at home... (the seller moves away from her with an indifferent look)..., but I called my husband, he’s already carrying my wallet.” The seller turns to her with a smile and open arms: “Hello again!”
(Joke)

"And what is the moral?"
In light of our topic, there is a lot of it here, and very different:
- how to attract a client, or almost everything. But for some reason we don’t do it, or we do it artificially, or as in the joke. True, there are pleasant exceptions and there are more and more of them;
- It feels like something hasn’t been finalized in this boutique:
either in personnel selection (personal characteristics), or the system of moral and material incentives for employees does not work (service standards exist, but do not work), or the marketing strategy (in its formulation) is aimed at increasing sales volume, and not at winning customer loyalty (such relationship, not a single client deserves, especially the target client - the “sacred cow” of any business);
- Yes, and the very first impression was that a fur coat arrived, not a person. Moreover, the fur coat is some kind of non-standard, without a wallet. And why is she needed here without a wallet? She’s walking around looking at something, God forbid she starts asking something, wasting your precious time and nerves on her... There’s a lot more that can be taken away from this anecdote, but let’s dwell for now on the above.

So, our topic is “How to make a client permanent?”, that is, this is a client who periodically buys something from us, and we would like to retain him, charm him, so that he comes to us more often and buys more. This means that we have done all the preliminary work to turn him from “just passing by on the way to work” to becoming a client. Or not?
There are five stages of turning just a person into a regular customer with whom you really want to be “friends forever”:
1. Potential buyers - people who may be interested in buying from you;
2. Visitors - people who have visited your company (shop/studio) at least once;
3. Buyers - those who purchased one or more products (used one or more services) of your company;
4. Customers - people who regularly buy your goods or use your services;
5. Adherents are those who tell everyone how wonderful your company is.

There is a wonderful book (see the list of references below), which describes in detail and with examples how to move a client from step to step, what is important to him, what he pays attention to, and of course, what he is caught by (i.e., what he wants, what is important to him, what he pays attention to). This will cover the basics of the basics and what you can start implementing right away (if you want).

Let's start from the very, very beginning: a group of people got together and decided if we should do something. They have two ways: do what they know how to do and then puzzle over who and how to sell it, or understand who our client is, what their needs are and build their work based on them.
For example, for an atelier, the basic need of any client is “the main thing is that the suit fits.” That is, it was tailor-made for him and emphasized his individuality (to the extent possible), quality is implied a priori by the client (“this is individual tailoring, not stamping”). Accordingly, depending on the level of quality that we can offer and what client capabilities we focus on, we find our niche.

Now our task is to attract the attention of potential buyers: Appearance and design - the face of your studio/shop is the display windows, treat them as “dumb sellers”. They create your image, image, even before the buyer comes to you. They tell him who you are and what you sell/offer. A lot has been written about advertising and it may be difficult to navigate the entire flow of information. The fact is that a lot of time has passed, and some of this information is outdated, and some is not suitable for your business. It is necessary to choose the most effective advertising that reflects and emphasizes the individuality of your company. As the simplest and most “working” litmus test, conduct 2-3 experiments: show your advertising sheet or booklet to someone who does not work for you and is not your relative or friend, cover up the name of your company. If a person says that this is an ordinary, standard, unremarkable advertisement or names your competitor as the author of the advertisement, then immediately throw it out and take on the development of YOUR ADVERTISING with renewed vigor.

They say that a person’s first impression of something or someone is formed in the first 8 seconds. What can you see in 8 seconds when you enter the studio? Catch it at the level of sensations - everything: the design of the room and the appearance of the employees, this goes without saying, as well as the attitude towards clients, the relationship between employees, the general atmosphere. How:
- Did they pay attention to him: they greeted him, smiled, called a tailor, or offered to wait a little, look at magazines, samples of material; or the receptionist is busy with paperwork, talking on the phone and not paying attention to the person, waiting for him to deign to come up.
- Interaction between employees: coherence of actions, addressing each other, relationships, respect, help in a difficult situation, etc. Would you say that this is not possible? At the level of sensations it is possible. If for some reason a person has to wait a long time, and the magazines and materials have run out (or are not interesting), he begins to observe how everything is arranged in your place, your entire kitchen - he has nothing else to do (then all of the above becomes conscious).
By the way, “the most valuable commodity of our time is time,” it can become additional service to your core business, enhancing the company’s attractiveness to the client. Moreover, this saves not only your client’s time, but also yours. It also shows how much you value and respect your client and yourself too.
The appearance and image of employees plays a big role, both for the first impression (pleasant impression; compliance of the employee’s image with the image of the organization), and in its compliance with the content of the employee’s activities. If you want, for example, to sit in a chair with a hairdresser who has “the devil knows what” on his head, and not a hairstyle, you will probably have doubts about his professionalism.
Knowledge of the product/service - staff competence - going beyond the scope of responsibility. How often, as a client, have you heard in response to your question: “No, I don’t know,” “It’s not in my competence.” Do you remember how you felt? The client wants and has the right to information, and reliable information, otherwise you will not see him again. This factor is important when communicating with any of the above clients, but you will have to pass a special test of strength when communicating with a “Visitor”. He hasn’t bought anything yet, he’s just trying it on, evaluating everything and is very critical. Your knowledge, ability to communicate with clients and work with client objections can turn this skeptic into your “Buyer”. Everything depends on you. The issue of competence is also very important; if an employee does not know something, then his task is to transfer the client “from hand to hand” to an employee who has the necessary knowledge and authority or promise to find information by the next meeting and fulfill the promise. As you see each new client, remember: “You won’t get a second opportunity to make a first impression.”

THE MAIN THING: EACH OF YOUR CLIENT IS AN PERSONALITY, INDIVIDUALITY, SPECIAL

He wants to be paid attention to, to smile, to be addressed personally and called by name (if there is information), to listen to him and answer his questions, to be respected, etc.

It is the need for recognition that is the key to the client’s heart. Now let's move on to potent remedies:
WORKING WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS is an invaluable source of information on improving your work, the opportunity to make him feel special, acquiring new clients and supporters. As you know, it is easier and cheaper to satisfy an existing customer than to attract a new one. Clients whose problems remain unresolved will go straight to competitors, remembering you with an unkind word all the way. Statistics:
- 91% of dissatisfied customers will never turn to the offending company again, and each of them will share the story of their troubles with at least nine other people;
"54-70% of complainants will use a company again if their complaints have been successfully resolved. If customers see problems resolved quickly, this figure rises to 95%. The key factor is the speed of resolution of the problem.

Complaint handling technology
1. Resist your first desire - to argue.
2. Let the person speak out (listen to the person, ask clarifying questions).
3. Understand how you can help by asking the question: “What can I do to help your problem?”
4. Provide solution options to choose from: either/or.
5. Thank the client for helping to correct the situation

Most clients want only justice and nothing more. They just want to get what they "paid for" in the shortest possible time. A caring attitude and a little respect go a long way toward calming angry feelings. However, there is a small percentage of greedy and unreasonable complainers. In this case, you must make a decision: either give in to customer demands, treating losses as an overhead of running a business, or suffer from their future ill will and damage to your reputation.

In order to manage customer expectations, you need to find out what your customers think about services at the present time; CONDUCTING SURVEYS AND RESEARCH will help you with this. It's not uncommon for an outsider to see flaws in something a company takes for granted. You will gain information about the needs of your customers, what you do well, why you are better than your competitors, and how they manage to cross your path.

"SPECIAL OFFERS" are strong: clubs of the most, the most; holidays, sales for the most beloved customers, special and exclusive offers, etc. This is typically used to convert "Clients" to "Adherents" and maintain relationships with them.

For all types of clients, the magic words are:
- For free
- Sale
- Present

GOOD LUCK!
P.S.: IN ORDER FOR ALL THIS TO WORK, MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING SUPPORT IS NEEDED:
1). UNDERSTAND WHO OUR CLIENT IS, HIS NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS
2). DEVELOP A STRATEGY TO MEET CLIENT NEEDS
3). BREAK YOUR EMPLOYEES ABOUT THE STRATEGY
4). TRAIN EMPLOYEES. TAKE CARE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES AND THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR CLIENTS.
5). DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A MOTIVATION SYSTEM
6). ESTABLISH QUALITY STANDARDS IN WORK AND MONITOR THEIR EXECUTION.

Literature:
1. M. Rafel, N. Rafel “How to win a client.” - St. Petersburg: Peter Press, 1996 (Series “Business without Secrets”).
2. Marilyn and Tom Ross" Big Ideas for small businesses in the service sector." - M.: "FAIR Agency", 1996.

Where to get a loyal client? Educate yourself! Lined up marketing strategy, we pay attention to activities to attract new customers. And our reputation is created by proven and constant ones. Irina Revyakina, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor, Content Marketer, will tell you how to “tame” a client and make him permanent.

Today, the consumer can freely choose from a variety of products and buy what he likes on one website or in a large store shopping center, and also become interested in a similar offer from competitors and go to them. Business owners focus on finding sellers, organizing their work, paying salaries, holding meetings, but devote little time to the buyer, forgetting that the main task is to keep his attention as long as possible. We’ll tell you in this article how to attract the attention of “new” customers and ensure the return of “old” ones.

What to do to make “old” clients return and “new” ones to come?

We invite you to familiarize yourself with 15 effective methods.

1. Cherish your customers. The feeling of care and attention from the seller is deposited in the buyer’s memory. Guess where he will come the next time he needs to buy the same product? Absolutely right! He will return to the same store and try to find this particular seller.

3. Learn to recognize customer needs. For example, an older woman comes to you and she has health problems. She talks about them and expects a more attentive attitude from the seller. Do not ignore this request, listen, give advice.

4. Sell the value of the purchase. Tell people why it is important to buy your product. What benefit awaits them? What's the benefit? Don't talk about the composition of the new joint cream, but tell them that it will help your legs feel light while walking.

5. Create needs when there are none. Sometimes a person does not know what he needs. In this case, your task is to form a desire. For example, you say that a citrus-scented shower gel will give you a feeling of vigor and lightness throughout the day. After such a message, people who lack energy and strength may think about making a purchase.

6. Put yourself in the client's shoes. Analyze what can make you buy: beautiful packaging, attentive attitude of the seller, bonuses, discounts? Apply discovery to your sales process.

7. Give the client more than he expects. For example, a woman bought shoes from you at a discount and is awaiting delivery of her purchase. And you, along with the shoes, give her a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates and wish her a good day. Interested? Surprise your clients.

8. Say thank you. Gratitude and respectful attitude towards a person stimulate him to further purchases. Don’t forget to look the buyer in the eyes and smile, and in a telephone conversation give compliments, use light and kind humor. For example, tell a customer: “With shoes like these, you will have a lot of fans!”

9. Ask to come to you again. Surely you often hear the phrase “Come to us again.” Knowing that you are welcome and welcome here builds your trust.

10. Conduct telephone surveys among customers after they have purchased a product or service from you. Call and ask what you liked and what you didn’t. This way you can find out the key problems of your customers and offer a profitable solution.

11. Remember customers. How nice it is to come to buy something where they remember you and already know what exactly you prefer. For example, in a cafe they recognize you at the entrance and offer you your favorite drink. At a minimum, the client is guaranteed a good mood. And loyalty to the establishment increases.

12. Consider the client’s possible objections and concerns. Prepare answers to emerging doubts in advance to neutralize them. Provide arguments in favor of the acquisition, but also do not hide the obvious shortcomings that the client sees. In this case, a low price will work well.

13. Sell to loyal customers. A person who has bought from you several times is a satisfied customer who uses the product/service and needs it constantly. This is the type of “ideal” client for any seller.

14. Give emotions to your clients. The emotional component is the basis of sales. A person will not buy a product from a seller with a sour face and will not want to communicate with a manager who asks ambiguous questions over the phone. How will you react if, when you call, they tell you: “It turns out that for you 10 o’clock is only morning?!” Do not make such comments to the client, otherwise you risk losing his attention forever. The client should feel inspired after the purchase, and not think that the sales assistant is an rude person.

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Every time you lose a buyer, you weaken the trade; The longer you retain a customer, the more worth your investment in marketing.

Buck Rogers

“One of the main directions of formation of strategic competitive advantages is to provide services more High Quality compared to similar and competitors"

writes an expert from ProHotel magazine, business coach and consultant consulting company"Leaders2Leaders" Inessa ERMISHKINA. The modern trade market involves fierce competition.

And the owner who believes that regular customers will always shop only from him is deeply mistaken. Moreover, making a regular customer is a difficult task and requires a lot of work.

How to meet a potential client?

First of all, even a well-trained salesman must be, first of all, a person, and only then a trade worker. A good salesperson understands perfectly well that in a matter like this, how to win a client, a lot depends on the first meeting.

A person should feel that they were waiting for him and that he was welcome. Be sure to say hello and introduce yourself, and do it in a friendly tone. Smiling sincerely and paying attention to everyone is one of the principles of successful trading. The seller is obliged to use it.

Goodwill in relationships is one of the main factors in the question of how to get regular customers. No matter how aggressive and uncommunicative the buyer may be, an employee of a retail establishment must remember that behind these qualities most often lies uncertainty and constraint.The client must be perceived as he is. Don't waste time trying to correct him and impose your opinion.

The seller’s task is different: to provide good service, thereby solving the problem of how to make the client permanent. He may not completely understand the choice of the right product or, on the contrary, be a specialist, the main thing is that he leaves satisfied.

Even if the buyer asks, as it seems to the seller, stupid questions, they must be answered, and there should be no arrogance in the answer. All negative emotions must be hidden deeply, otherwise it will have a bad effect.

Ways to retain regular customers

There is always a chance that a regular client will not leave for competitors. The main thing is to use them correctly. There are several ways.

Regular customer questionnaire. Each person appreciates attention to his person, so you need to keep your own card index of regular customers, writing down the name, phone number, and what the person is interested in. When new products arrive, such a questionnaire will allow you to quickly contact the buyer and advise him on the product in accordance with his tastes and preferences.

The result will be the arrival of new customers. But at this stage, you need to think of a way that will help distinguish casual buyers from regular ones. And at this stage, the main thing is to retain old customers, and only then can you start attracting new customers.

Pareto principle

What do customers like?

The buyer will return to the store for his next purchase only if he likes it there. And to like it, you need to provide some additional reasons. This could be a loyalty card, a discount coupon, or something similar.

In fact, customers like really low prices, free shipping and, of course, gifts. But in cases with gifts, there is a condition: it is impossible for an item intended for a gift to be sold in a store. A loyalty card shows how important he is to the store, and the buyer, feeling this, will definitely return.

Reasons why purchases are not made and ways to overcome them.

1. The person has no need to buy. In this case, it is necessary to offer discounts and rewards to regular customers.
2. The client does not have the required amount of money. The solution is to buy on credit.
3. There is no rush to purchase goods. Here you can mention that there is a promotion for regular customers, and it will last only a few days, the quantity of goods is limited.
4. There is no elementary desire. The seller must prove that owning the item will increase a person's prestige.
5. No confidence in the product. In this case, only recommendations from other buyers will work, which in good stores are collected in a separate book.

A competent seller, in addition to the purchase, will offer to buy something else, and upon purchase there will be a discount for a regular customer. In five cases it works. All kinds of incentive programs are of great importance to attract regular customers.

They have two goals: continuity and incentives. Another way to attract customers would be thank you letter regular customer. This form is very effective, because attention has never been too much for anyone. And remember that the more the buyer spends, the more he wants to spend more.

Adults with minimal life experience know that a serious relationship, be it love, friendship or business partnership, requires work. Dreams of love at first sight are the prerogative of teenagers who have read romantic books. Relationships with the buyer are also serious and painstaking work that requires mental effort.

Retail chains spend huge amounts of money to attract customers. Only provincial general stores do not offer promotions with gifts on the occasion of holidays. In a competitive environment, you need to fight for everyone who enters the trading floor. But, most importantly, you have to put in twice as much effort to “stick” the client when he has already bought something.

The management of retail chains is trying to retain regular customers - CRM systems allow them to track and anticipate desires, plan promotions for those who shop only in one store, but this is not enough. Why? Because competitors have all the same things.

But you can retain the client through the behavior of the staff. Typically, the seller's activity and courtesy increase as the buyer's interest in purchasing the product increases. But as soon as the purchase is made, the consultant’s eyes dim, the smile disappears from his face, and the tone of his voice takes on a neutral-dry intonation. Indeed, why waste energy when you have achieved what you wanted? Purchase from a client, money in the cash register.

If you train consultants to work to retain clients, the picture will change. The seller will strive to ensure that the buyer returns and makes a purchase - if not tomorrow, but at least in a month. And then the degree of goodwill will not return to zero after the client has purchased the product. How can I do that? First you need to understand the buyer.

What are regular customers always happy about and what don’t they like?

A person, having made a purchase in one store, will go to another the next day. This doesn't mean he didn't like the previous one. There are just a lot of retail chains now and there is always a choice. But, having visited three, five or seven stores, he will become a regular customer of only one. The reasons lie on the surface. There are two of them:
1) They have the lowest prices,
or
2) They have first class service

As for the price offer, Russian retail operators are not much different from each other, but if we talk about the behavior of the staff, the differences are significant. There are retail chains where salespeople are almost as courteous as waiters in expensive restaurants, and there are those where you don’t immediately understand who you’re talking to - a loader or a consultant.

So, the first pattern: buyers return to where
Service is much better than in other stores

Have you noticed how unpleasant it can be when on the sales floor a consultant approaches someone other than you? Well, for example, if the other one gives the impression of a wealthier client? Feeling offended is unlikely to allow you to become a regular customer of such a store. And all because clients constantly come to where:
Treat all customers equally well

And finally, the third pattern. A relationship with a regular customer is like friendship. It doesn’t happen that from January to March we are friends (while the promotion is going on), but from May to September (the money for the promotion has run out) - not. Therefore, only those who:
Shows attention to clients at all times

What should sellers learn?

What does a standard meeting look like at the beginning or end of the working day? They talk about discipline, conflicts, delays, order on the shelves, new arrivals... Wait, haven’t we missed anything? Maybe it’s worth talking about clients at least sometimes?
Few places teach salespeople to think about customers and what they are like. But it's simple. Ask an employee: “Who buys most often?” Let him answer who these people are by profession, age, whether they have children, and what their approximate income level is. Most often, sellers cannot say anything, although they see thousands of people in front of them. Therefore, recommendation number one:

Train employees to think about customers

When employees become more attentive, they will immediately notice that non-working people most often come into the store in the morning, pensioners in the middle of the day, and students in the evening. They will understand that each category expects special treatment. When this happens, give the sellers a second hint task:

Train them to remember regular customers

At each meeting, ask how many repeat customers the salespeople noticed during the shift. Give two to three months to develop this habit. Then, when employees get used to noticing customers, move on to the next step:

Ask them to contact regular customers

At first it will be difficult to take initiative, so sellers can be given a script for making contact. The options are:
- congratulate you on the upcoming holiday (New Year, March 8, Victory Day);
- ask regular customers what they like about the store, why they come here
Etc.

Having instructed the sellers, it is advisable to conduct a mini-training. Have everyone say the phrases a few times and make sure they sound natural.

Monitor constantly. Ask employees if they are able to complete these tasks. As you move around the sales floor, take note of who communicates with customers and how. If you see that employees are shy, talk to regular customers yourself - show them how to do it. Personal example in trading is the basis of training and management. Forcing salespeople to be nice is not very effective. Create a “fashion” for treating clients well and encourage its most zealous followers.

When this stage is passed, salespeople will develop a good habit of communicating with customers. Perhaps they will become friends with one of the regular customers. This is inevitable, because where there are normal human relationships, sympathy arises.

What's next, you ask?

And then the most difficult thing - you need to maintain good relationships with regular customers and prepare for the fact that there will be more of them day by day. And if your chain or store has a loyalty program, then coupled with the friendly behavior of the staff, this will have an amazing effect. The main thing is not to slow down and not relax, you cannot be friends from time to time, friendship is a constant process. And then clients will definitely reciprocate: they will forget the road to competitors and bring new customers.

Evgeniy Mamonov