One of the data points you’ve likely heard before, and maybe even realized yourself, is that it is often painfully more expensive to gain a brand new paying customer than to gain a repeat purchase from an existing customer.
With that said, there still seems to be an abundance of books, articles, courses, conferences, tweets and ATTENTION paid to helping businesses overcome the former (higher cost) activity compared to the latter (lesser cost) one.
Weird. 🤔
Alas, this is my promise to you.
I pledge to give more attention and productive noise to champion strategies and belief systems to help readers gain more repeat purchases and life-long customers.
Much of what I can share with you in my articles and emails will only help if you genuinely buy-in to this belief:
The acquisition of a new customer is an opportunity for a long-lasting, profitable win-win partnership.
…one that you’re responsible for creating.
To me, that statement is incredibly exciting and empowering. We have the ability, if we so choose, to be world-class at customer retention.
But, if you can’t buy-in to this belief I suggest you just skip right to the abundance of resources available to help you more successfully chase new customers.
The foundational statement above, and several other ideas I first relied on to build my own high-performing, loyalty-focused direct sales business, were discovered or made stronger by reading the books I’ve listed below.
If you’re looking to grow your business in 2021 through improved customer loyalty, I can’t recommend these titles strong enough:
#1 Evergreen by Noah Fleming – With practical advice, exercises, and stories, Noah breaks down “the 3 C’s” (character, community and content) that all sustainable, profitable businesses cultivate on purpose!
This book really is THE. BEST… I’ve read Evergreen 3 times so far. Actually, I’ve studied it. See:
I’ve bought and sent close to a dozen copies to new clients with some sort of note about it being “required reading” for business growth. If you only choose one of these books to read in 2021, make it this one.
#2 Amaze Every Customer Every Time by Shep Hyken – I recently read this one along with my friends at Seven Sons Farms.
What I think readers would take away from this book is awareness about the number of opportunities we have to really amaze customers. If you keep your eyes open to them, simple gestures can drive home real trust and commitment to your brand.
Mr. Hyken walks through seven principles needed to put his “Amazement Tools” to use as you begin creating your own “Moments of Magic.”
#3 Go Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann – This is a fast, easy read that dives heavily into the benefits being authentic and adding value throughout the entire customer journey. That’s a solid combo. 😉
I actually first read this in my direct sales days as, in the end, it’s about effective, conversational selling. But, I absolutely believe it’s a hidden gem about loyalty.
Why?
As he discusses in the book, you put yourself on the fast track to endearing customer loyalty if you get off on the right foot. It’s possible, but hard to recover from a bad or mediocre first impression.
#4 Superfans by Pat Flynn – Disclaimer: I’m a Pat Flynn superfan. 😁 I’ve followed his Smart Passive Income blog and podcast for years, and he speaks my love language in this, his newest book.
If we merely think of our audience as followers, subscribers or customers we lose out on the opportunity to create Superfans that add tremendous meaning and value to our businesses.
#5 Unmarketing by Scott Stratten – I’d say this is the most entertaining of the five and also focuses on the role of social media more than the others. It’s filled with “don’t do this” stories where companies dropped the ball when they COULD have engaged customers and earned their repeat business.
Annnnnd, that’s the list…
With 2020 behind us, but remaining uncertainty ahead of us, choosing to double down on caring for and cultivating your audience will help you to stand out.
So, go do that.