Leveraging Loyalty: How to Keep Customers Hooked

By Teri Evans

FOXBusiness

Attracting new customers is an obvious way to grow your business, and often the primary focus of a small business owner.

But like any important relationship, experts say it's what you do after you win the business that really determines long-term success.
 Here are five cost-effective ways to keep customers coming back without coupons, gimmicks or giveaways. Don't wait for complaints to step up the charm. Use a personal touch to cement the relationship with your most loyal customers. A simple handwritten card letting them know you appreciate them will stand out far more than a mass e-mail.
In a high-tech world where few people put pen to paper anymore, receiving a snail-mail note makes customers feel special, said Lauri Flaquer of Saltar Solutions, a small-business consultancy in St. Paul, Minn.
Making an unexpected phone call to check in with the customers who bring in the greatest revenue, for example, will also leave a lasting impression. And be consistent, Flaquer recommended. Contact them every 30 to 90 days, but remember that it should always be a sincere gesture of appreciation -- not an attempt to sell them more stuff. "You don't want to just call when you need them."

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