Repeat customers

One goal of being in business, is to stay in business. One of the best ways to stay in business is to cultivate a cadre of repeat cusotmers. Have you been successful doing this? How did you do it?

If you are providing a service that people need over and over, such as content writing, and you do a great job...well, that's how to get repeat business. It really is that simple.

Have you been successful doing this?
Yes.

How did you do it?
Not sharing my methods.

Herewego, It's not always so simple.

What if you do a great job and someone comes along and offers to do as well for less money?
What if you do a great job but you're extremely difficult to work with?
What if you do a great job and the client doesn't realise it?
What if you do a great job but ultimately aren't charging enough for your services?
What if you do a great job, but the client is an idiot?
What if you do such a good job, the client decides s/he can hire someone else (a relative, say) to follow your lead?

Yes it's probably true that it's cheaper to retain clients than to find new ones, but if you're not spending much on marketing (say, under $15/client) to begin with it's not such a problem.

But the idea that a successful business needs repeat customers only holds when your profit comes from volume. If you sell something that is consumed quickly or has a limited shelf life (web content, ball point pens, snow peas). For this reason, and because there are many people out there who could provide these commodities, keeping your profit margin low brings you more work. 100 clients, each with work for your every month, might keep you more than afloat.

On the other hand, what if you provide a service or commodity that's only needed every once in a while (a mainframe, a desk, a refrigerator)? In such cases there's probably less competition for your work, and you probably have a higher profit margin, but 100 clients, each needing your services once every 3-5 years, may not be enough to keep your business afloat. You would be more dependent on good networking and marketing than on providing goods or services to any one client.

In short, how you retain clients and what that means to your business depends on your business model and, to a lesser extent, on what you do.

Ohhh libby, don't be such a creeper.

On another note, is there really a science to getting repeat customers? I'd imagine its nothing more then offering a quality service with completive prices.

There are few businesses that don't depend on repeat customers. Even when they buy a certain item only once every three years, then you would be selling them other products. Otherwise, you'd go out of business pretty quickly unless you are selling a very high ticket product, like a BMW or a house.

If you do a good job they will come back, most of the time anyways. That is really all there is to it. Don't be their slave; some do expect that, just do a good job and the majority will return.

Lowengard! Wow! Thanks for the thoughtful analysis. I agree that there are many dynamics at play that can undermine repeat business. You raise a good point in that you may not WANT the repeat business of some customers.

I agree with the others, doing a good job is the way to go. Try to always be professional and deliver what you promise, and they will most possible return.

No, there is no substitute for filling a need or solving a problem for a customer. Chances are they have other needs to be filled and other problems to be solved. If you know what those are, chances are good you'll have other opportunities.