In a recent blog post I shared how small businesses are too focused on the front end of their business and are neglecting the back end. Well today I’m sharing the mistakes small business owners like you are making that’s causing their existing customers to run away! And remember: strategic business growth comes from retention.
So, now that you’re aware that retention is what causes strategic business growth, then you might have noticed that you aren’t actually having as many repeat customers as you’d hoped! And this is because what you focus on is where your energy and resources go. You’ve probably been focusing on leads leads leads most of the time and probably did well.
By focusing on retention your business will grow but first you have to become more aware of the potential mistakes because most likely there are 3 mistakes you’re making that will cost you repeat customers.
Those 3 mistakes are:
- Not having a customer journey in place that focuses on deepening the transformation
- Not continually educating your customers and keeping them in the loop with what’s going on in the space and in your business (this means not only sending them hard sales messages)
- Not building a community that has inbound and outbound referral opportunities
First Mistake: No Customer Success Journey
This is a big one! I’ve seen so many small business owners running one and done type businesses. I’ve especially seen this when people are more about being self-employed (aka a personal job) than building a business. So, the only real options you have is to either have done-for-you work, one off products, or work directly with you work only. This, however, opens you up for burn out, overwhelm and a job you created for yourself yet you hate!
What if you could help them take some steps on their own or in a group that may or may not involve you until they are a bit further on the journey? Then you can invest your energy in those who are already going through a transformation.
This also means making them paying customers at a lower $ threshold because people who’ve spent even $1 with you are 10X more likely to buy from you again than someone who has never spent anything.
So create a customer journey that takes them incrementally from where they are to where they want to be. And incrementally is because it’s through micro-commitments that people shift and change and most people know this on a deeper level. Sudden drastic changes can shock the system and eventually lead to regression. These micro-commitments can also come through your stories and your content! Speaking of content lets get to mistake #2
Second Mistake: Not “edu-taining” your people
If the only time you ever email your people on your email list is when you have something to sell… you’re not edutaining them and therefore you’re not retaining them.
This is a big mistake small businesses make… a really big one. Especially if you’re a small service-based business or a product-based business where if people buy something they are literally buying a piece of you. Because if the saying is true: people buy from people they know like (love) and trust then that isn’t being fostered with only sending sales emails.
Even if you are selling them something that will change their life it’s still to your benefit unless they know you have their best interest at heart. So keeping them informed and entertained to some extent is to your benefit and their’s if you want to continue to make sales. Speaking of sales lets get to Mistake #3
Third Mistake: Not having a referral system
Referrals are important for business. But not just inbound referral where people are referring your business to others but outbound referrals as well. Outbound referrals are when you refer business to your customers as well as referring businesses to your customers. This might sound crazy but only if you are operating in scarcity mentality.
In order to become the “go-to” for your customers you need to SHOW that by sharing additional opportunities with them. These additional opportunities might help them in adjacent areas of their lives as well as offer you some commission. It’s safe to also refer things EVEN if you don’t get a commission. Sometimes that can be even more powerful because for your customers it’ll seem like you are thinking about them even if it doesn’t make you any more money. It will foster good will.
Another win for this is that other brands will see your good will and want to share you as well. Can you say “free targeted leads”? Why, yes you can! lol
So let’s recap the 3 mistakes that will cost you repeat customers
- Not having a customer journey
- Not edu-taining them and keeping them in the loop
- Not sharing other opportunities that make you the go-to!
Implementing these simple strategies will help you become the trusted advisor to your customers because that’s how brand loyalty is developed. Brand loyal customers spend more, stick around a lot longer, are less price conscious, and naturally refer people to your business. To learn more about this join the VIP list where I share the 4-Step Profit Booster Framework™️ and more.
