“It takes months to find a customer and only seconds to lose one” — Vince Lombardi
Having a good idea is great but executing it is remarkable.
So, you are reading this article.
Why ?
Probably because there’s some amazing idea in your mind which you have executed or may be you are looking forward to execute it.
Yeah exactly. This article is for you.
First, let us understand why this article is important for you ?
In the entrepreneurial world, if you are a new startup with a disruptive idea, then it’s natural to attract different stakeholders towards your business.
Appeal of your idea, product , brand and your marketing strategy drives customers to you in large numbers.
But million dollar puzzle which every startup founders is dying to solve is that how to engage his customers so that they become loyal to your brand ?
Let us be a bit realistic.
Ask yourself a question. Who runs your startup?
Uhh… You might think the creature known as ‘investor’…
Tech team…
Me…
Who else?
You forgot most important man. Your customer. One who pays you.
If you forgot him, you are not only one. Most startup founders also forget them when making business decisions.
And then they punish you. Guess what ?
Your startup’s growth graph becomes a decreasing downward curve.
So, now you have got how important your customers are for you.
Let me ask you a few more questions :
i. ) Are you addressing your customer’s pain ?
You know customers are always looking for some solutions to their problems. But you have to be a bit clever at that point. You need to give them something extra. Some extra ordinary.
Did you get it? Yeah. A bit different by which they feel special. Something by which they feel appreciated. By which they feel empowered.
And if you did that you know what did they get by using your product/service ? They get the ‘value’. And that’s the point where you start creating the ‘impact’.
ii. ) Start by impacting a segment, not the whole market :
Another important point which most startup founders miss is they want to create a ‘long-lasting’ impact on the whole world.
But they end up with no impact at all. Why ?
Because to serve your customers effectively you have to select a niche for yourself. You cannot impact each and every person on the planet. Instead, you can enable ‘value’ for some persons on the planet which may create an impact on others as well.
If you are able to create ‘value’ for even a segment of the market, they will become your loyal customers.
iii. ) Fulfill what you promise to customers :
Promises are the part of your promotional campaigns and necessary too. But you know living up to your promises is key to startup life.
Don’t over promise.
Humans like honest people. Customers do too. They want you to be clear to them. If you are clear to them, it will increase your credibility, which ultimately leads to customer retention.
iv. ) Customers are emotional :
According to Harvard Professor Gerald Zaltman, 95% of purchasing decisions are based on emotions.
Although, if you are creating impact for some people, then you have already linked your product/service to their emotions. But there’s another point. You should also reflect that in your whole business strategy.
You marketing strategy should be focused on how your product/service is related to emotions of your customer. If you do that customer feels a certain ‘nearness’ to your brand. And that’s where you win amongst all competitors.
v. ) Provide best customer service :
Customer service is key to customer retention. If you are a service based startup then there should be a proper channel of communication between you and customer.
However, if you have some hardware product, then you should have clear replacement, warranty or repair guidelines and service centers.
If you do that you can win their hearts, which will ultimately enable them to be loyal to your brand.
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