Existing Clients Eat New Clients for Breakfast
(or they send them towards your business instead)
As a small business owner you have to scale your business and new client acquisition is the key to business growth - this is what the current business paradigm teaches.
No wonder, in the pursuit for growth and new clients, companies and founders often forget that they are already sitting on a pot of gold: their existing clients, the people who already chose them over the competition, who already bought from them and who are already paying attention to their business.
The existing clients of a small business are its best clients.
So, why are the existing clients simply… golden?
Existing clients bought from you once before - this is of course what makes them clients in the first place but remember that they chose your business over any other business out there.
Existing clients, the happy ones in particular, are likely to choose you again. The probability of them buying from you again and maybe even spending more, is higher compared to that of a new client choosing you for the first time.
The internet is full of reliable stats about how much more cost efficient and profitable it is to retain a client versus acquiring a new one. Here is one from Harvard Business Review: it’s 5 to 25 times more costly to acquire a new customer than to retain and satisfy an existing customer.
Existing and content customers are your greatest salespeople. They will, naturally and authentically, refer your business to others. Word of mouth, referrals to their friends and network, favorable reviews on public spaces and positive comments, shares and recommendations via social media - these are all extremely powerful business drivers.
The chase for new and more clients can quickly become a “beast with an ever growing appetite that requires constant feeding” (reference from writer Danielle LaPorte). Of course, a dexterous new client acquisition strategy is surely an important part of creating a profitable business. There is one top secret that small business owners should keep in mind: balance. It is not uncommon at all to see businesses that shift most of their resources on reaching new audiences and acquiring new clients, while losing sight of the existing clients and the opportunities for growth they bring.
Then, how can a business retain its existing clients?
Here are 4 top tactics, drawn from our experience, to nurture and retain your existing clients.
1. Make your existing clients feel heard and amplify their voice
Happy and especially unhappy clients can share valuable information about your business, about how your services or products are perceived from the outside. It is a good practice to send out satisfaction surveys or to ask for feedback with any opportunity you get and listen carefully.
Make your existing clients feel heard and amplify their voice.
Make sure to close the feedback loop. Companies must listen with an “open heart” and try to understand the input received. Getting defensive about less than positive feedback defeats the purpose of asking for it in the first place. At its best, a feedback form and a good communication strategy will turn even unhappy clients into returning ones.
2. Make the ongoing relationship with your existing clients a win-win
Throughout the buying process you have collected and stored information about your clients - personal data, maybe elements around their needs, expectations and priorities. The key here is, again, to have a balanced approach - one where you use such information only within the limits that you are allowed to, you use it in a contextualized manner, with empathy and just as importantly - in a meaningful way.
Make the ongoing relationship with your existing clients a win-win.
Respect weights just as much as in any other relationship. The information sitting in your client files gives you a certain power - use it in a mutually beneficial way. Customize the next offer to address your client’s most urgent needs, respect the timings on your client side - a good time for you to sell might not be the right time for them to commit to a new purchase, service or project.
3. Meet your clients where they are
Always keep your client's interest and needs over your commercial agenda. Focusing on how you can serve your client better instead of how you can sell more, might just bring surprisingly positive results for your business.
An existing client will generally be more open to trying one of your new products or services. Do not use this in your favour when you genuinely know (by knowing your customers) that such offering does not benefit the client to begin with. Make them a personalised offer instead.
Meet your clients where they are.
From the first contact, observe your clients and pay attention to their preferences. Do they prefer to be called over answering emails? Do they appreciate a face-to-face conversation? Do they look for explanations and alternatives or want you to simply take away and solve the challenge they have? Whenever possible, even if it goes outside of your usual business flows, do make room to accommodate your clients preferences.
4. Make those small gestures and make them genuinely
The small things make a big difference - a thank you note, a birthday wish, a Christmas card, a kind message or a box of chocolates. Regardless of the kind of commercial transaction we engage in, at the end of the day, we are all human. It is people making business with other people, even in a B2B context, and a little attention goes a really long way!
Make those small gestures and make them genuinely.
So far we discovered why existing clients are golden and how business owners can safeguard such treasure. Now, one more tip on where to keep said “pot of gold: if not positioned at the very center of the business, it loses all of its gilded shine. So, no wonder one can lose sight of it! Putting your existing clients at the very heart of how you do business, being truly customer-centric (to use the fancy words), is the only way that “pot of gold” can show its aurous worth. Even when they are just a few, the existing clients are a crucial asset for your business and it is vital to stay in touch with them and to reward your most loyal ones.
One final thought: stay mindful and receptive - it is one of the advantages of a small business who doesn't have to sort through tens of customer segments and several automated journeys. Use your small ops size in your favor and capitalize on the power of 1-to-1 relationships to cultivate a strong relationship with your clients.
This is the 5th article from the series “5 empowering thoughts for small businesses in 2023”. Sign up to the newsletter (form available in the website footer) to receive them directly in your inbox.
Image credits (in order): Kelly Sikkema, Matt Botsford, Markus Spiske, Karim Manjra, Egor Lyfar - all via unsplash.
About Journee - Digital at Ease
Founded by two digital marketing professionals with extensive international experience, Journee GmbH is a female owned digital marketing and technology boutique consultancy.
We aim to make a big difference for the small: small business owners and solopreneurs looking to start and advance on their business digital journey.
Our combined expertise covers digital marketing, digital analytics, advertising, marketing technology as well as overall digital strategy support and mentorship.