Most small business owners I know are looking for the same things: more money, more personal time, more energy, smarter employees, more customers, and the return of the forty hour work week.

Let’s look more closely at one today…more customers and clients.

Keeping a Customer is Cheaper and Easier than Finding a New One

As you’ve probably heard, it is easier to keep a customer than it is to find a new one.  Small business owners reward loyalty in a variety of ways: preview invitations to seasonal sales, birthday freebies, buy one get one at a reduced price, email specials and even the familiar fish bowl that allows visitors to throw a business card in for the lucky draw.

I read an article in the ClickZ Archives dating back to 2004 about an effective approach towards customer loyalty that was provocative and award-winning.  It wasn’t a small business but we can take a lesson from it, I think. No suspense here…it was Avis.  Remember the commercial slogan “We’re #2?”  That campaign was so successful it “won the prestigious Brand Keys Award for the most loyal brand in the U.S. three years running.”  I’m quoting the author of the article, Fredrick Marckini, the original founder of iProspect.  His company was the first SEM only firm in the country in 1996.  Talk about being ahead of the curve on ‘going green.’

Mr. Marckini was writing about Ron Masini, who at the time was in the development department at Avis.

Three of Mr. Masini’s propositions stand out in the article:

• “Consumers who only buy from the lowest-priced provider in any market, are the first defectors.”
• “There’s such cost and effort associated with acquiring customers in many service industries, customers only become profitable in the relationship’s second or third year.”
• “Spending acquisition dollars to attract customers who defect the moment a cheaper option is available is short-term thinking.”

Sidebar:  Clickz Network is a resource for knowledge about the cutting edge of internet marketing.

The summary is, I think, that we are better off scratching our heads about how we can deliver the value behind the price we put on our goods and services, rather than throwing a sign up offering a free belt with every pair of pants.

Free or cheap prices rarely, if ever, keep the customer or client coming back for more of the same.  There is always somebody out there cheaper.

Have some fun with your business!  The 4^th of July is coming…dress up as Uncle Sam and charge full price with a smile.