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How can a business convert more initial sales to long-term "customer for life" relationships?

Businesses have traditionally been concerned with getting new customers and making initial sales. That is the focus of their marketing and sales groups. Very few businesses have a group devoted to customer retention.

By neglecting customer retention, a business is just treading water. It may be losing customers as fast as it is getting them, so it can't really grow. When a business is successful in keeping customers, it can grow when it adds its new customers to the existing group.

Robert Skrob is a consultant who works with membership and subscription companies on improving customer retention. He has worked with major companies like Agora, Harley- Davidson dealerships, No BS Inner Circle, and Charity: Water.

In Retention Point, a short, 145-page book, he has summarized the major strategies his clients have implemented to dramatically improve their client retention.

Business owners might think, "My business isn't a membership or subscription. This doesn't apply to me." With some creativity, almost any business can become a membership or subscription business. Think of Sam's Club, Apple Computer, Microsoft (Office Online) and Southwest Airlines. Develop "customers" into devoted fan "tribe members."

According to Robert Skrob, the business needs to change its mindset from being a Member Marketer to a Member Leader.

The key is to nurture the customer for an initial period of the first few transactions using a process he calls the Member On Ramp^TM.

According to Robert Skrob, one of the major errors many companies make is to go into a heavy teaching mode with the first transaction. Customers get discouraged because they are overwhelmed with new information that they don't believe they can implement.

Instead, companies should reassure the customer by continuing to re-sell the transformation - the results the customer was seeking - when making the initial purchase. Give "baby steps" the customer can take to have some progress toward what they want to accomplish. Provide case studies of how other customers have achieved what they were seeking using the company's products and services.

The most expensive transaction a business has is to acquire new customers and make the initial sale. The best way to improve profitability is to improve customer retention. Get and study a copy of Retention Point for a road map for how your business can keep more customers.

Buy it on Amazon: Retention Point: The Single Biggest Secret to Membership and Subscription Growth for Associations, SAAS, Publishers, Digital Access, Subscription ... Membership and Subscription-Based Businesses.

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