Customer Loyalty: The Backbone of Any Successful Business

The true strength of any successful business is customer loyalty and any business owner will attest to this. There are many other benefits that are essential to a thriving business that can emerge from high customer loyalty. The question becomes how do you increase customer loyalty? There isn't one answer, but rather a combination of different methods that can help build customer loyalty. Many of these facets an how to employ them are included in a book released by the Harvard Business Review which details their importance.

Harvard Business Review on Increasing Customer Loyalty.

Customers that come back to buy again and also bring their friends with them to buy is the main idea behind the customer loyalty plan. This is a pretty simple idea, but executing it is not. To start on the path towards this kind of success make sure that your employees enjoy their jobs. If your employees are happy their happiness will spread throughout your business and to your customers. Your customers will then get the feeling that something good is happening at your business.

Turning negative situations that arise into positive ones is another step to take. Training in this skill will be needed by your employees, but since they are happy they should learn quickly. There is tremendous opportunity to deepen a relationship when a customer has a problem. Start with the idea of never saying no to a customer, make sure that they know you are making an exception just for them, and then exceed their expectations for a solution. Customers who emerge from this situation satisfied will refer in addition to remaining loyal.

Certain steps can be taken to increase customer loyalty, which has been learned by the Harvard Business Review through extensive research they've done.

The above ideas are just the beginning and the book goes into much more detail on the subject. Customer service is the focus of many aspects of customer loyalty, but the book points out others located in different arenas. All the topics concerning customer loyalty are reviewed to help you build a well rounded plan.

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Studying In Order To Advance In Business

Many people go through their whole careers thinking that the only way to get a promotion is to "know the right people," or to "just get lucky." While there is a small sliver of luck when it comes to advancing in business, however, most people give this sliver far more credit than it deserves! In fact, the place where many fail in business is not in luck, but in a failure to be prepared to take advantage of (or even recognize!) their opportunity when it shows up at last. If you are a small business owner, an employee at a large corporation, or even a manager who is hoping to move up higher in the ranks, you must come to understand the value of studying to advance in business.

If you are a small business owner, this study should take the shape of understanding what your competitors are doing. This study should go beyond simply the things you competitors do poorly; you should also take a good look at the things your strongest competitor does right!

If you are an employee in a large corporation, it can often feel as though it is impossible to ever get noticed. It can seem as though it is absolutely random whether an employee's hard work gets rewarded or not, as there are so many employees who are so similar to one another. This is the easiest position in which one can forget to keep studying, as it seems like all the study is yielding no dividends. But if you continue to increase in knowledge and expertise regarding the corporation for which you work, you will be prepared to seize your opportunity when it comes - and the law of averages holds that this opportunity will come in time!

It is very easy for managers to sit back and forget that there is still more to accomplish. But as a manager, it is important that you not only continue to study to open up doors for advancement, but that you also study in order to enlighten those in your charge!

Take thirty minutes each day to study a bit more about your business and the business around you, and you will be pleased with the growth of your knowledge and with your ability to seize your opportunity.

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Relationships Lead to Sales

The area that your businesses home office occupies needs to be well established by you and your employees. Although it isn't always the case, your businesses backyard should be the best area for you to get easy sales. In order to ensure that none of your competitors move into your home territory, there are a few methods you can use. Building relationships with clients you've already acquired and clients you would like to have through personal contact is the best technique. Relationships are at the center of all business dealings.

Your current customers will statistically be more loyal to you the more often you see them. Make it part of your normal habit to get in front of your current local customers as often as possible. This gives your business a personal feel and allows you to establish a personal relationship with your clients. Competitors will have little chance at stealing these clients since your will have a personal connection with them.

Acquiring new customers in this way can be much harder. It may seem like a waste of time to stay in touch with them since they have already told you 'no'. But keep in mind that if their dealings turn sour with their current provider they will turn somewhere else. In this case you want to make sure you are the first person they contact about a switch. So the first time that they have a major issue you will be on speed dial since you have been in touch with them this entire time.

In order to get the most business out of your local area, be sure to establish the best relationships possible. Remember that ‘no’ often means ‘not now’ and not ‘never’. You need to use this method if you ever hope to be distanced from others in your field. By being in constant contact with those in your community you will develop a reputation as a stand up business person to deal with.

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