It’s commonly assumed that businesses need a steady stream of new customers to survive — and if your business is like most, you’ve probably spent quite a bit of money on advertising trying to pull more customers in. But that assumption is, quite simply, not always correct. If you’re satisfied with the current size of your business and you provide a product or service that people need more than once, what you need to focus on more than anything else is keeping the customers you already have.

Repeat customers not only spend more than first-time customers (according to a study done last year, perhaps as much as 80% more by the 10th purchase), they can also become brand advocates, allowing you to slowly expand your influence without putting money into expensive marketing techniques.

How to Encourage Repeat Business

So how do you build the kind of loyalty that results in a reliable customer base? There are numerous strategies, but here are the three most important:

• Always Keep Your Promises

  In order to keep customers, you need to build trust — and that means keeping your promises. Whether that’s a small promise like returning a phone call on time or a big promise like guaranteeing your product, you can never let something slide.

• Make Repeat Customers Feel Special

  Give repeat customers exclusive benefits. Depending on what kind of business you have, that might involve a loyalty card, email coupons, holiday gifts or something larger.

• Provide Excellent Customer Service

  Research has found that customers are 70% more likely to return to a business that offers them good service; that figure speaks for itself.

How a Phone Answering Service Can Help

So how does a live telephone answering service relate to keeping your existing client base? Well, the fact is that, despite developing technology offering more and more customer service options to consumers, the majority of them will still give you a call when they need something — and their experience on that call can determine whether or not they remain your customer.

Providing a good customer service experience over the phone is harder than you think. First of all, it’s important to answer promptly — every single time. One survey of more than 2,500 consumers found that almost 60% thought a minute was too long to be on hold (32.3% thought any hold time whatsoever was unacceptable). And 72% of clients who don’t get through won’t leave you a voicemail. If you’re trying to hold onto customers, that’s not good. By hiring a phone answering service, you know that your customers will always be promptly greeted by a trained operator qualified to help them with their needs or transfer them through to one of your in-house employees.

Do you see how telephone answering services could make life easier for you and help you keep your customers happy? Share your feedback in the comments.