Customer Retention can be Easy!

Long before the winter’s holiday sales, retailers across the country were trying to lure shoppers with unique, new strategies. This is also your cue to take advantage of the expensive years of research that’s already been done by top retailers, and apply innovative "packaging" to your business to drive more results your way. It doesn’t matter if your business offers a product or a service; the goal is to gift-wrap your products or services in a way that will become a valuable gift to your clients. And who doesn’t like valuable gifts? The goal is to fine-tune successful strategies to fit your unique business.

5 Fast Ways to Attract More Business and Keeping Customers Coming Year-Round

1. Think Gift Certificates

Gift certificates are a fast, low-cost way to translate your business into a gift, be it a two-week workshop, a free consultation, a defined discount on your products or services—you name it! The National Retail Federation's 2007 Holiday Consumer Survey reported that 54 percent of consumers wanted to receive a gift card as a holiday gift. Why not offer gift cards for other holidays, or during your business’s anniversary, or once a month?

2. Think Add-Ons

Offer a valuable add-on to your product or services. Offer a content-rich CD as a free gift with your consultation, workshop or product. Add a free subscription to your paid newsletter. Add on one free week of services for every five paid weeks of services. Add a complementary product free with each product sold. For more immediate results, add a "limited time only" availability of your add-ons. To drive customers and clients to your business year-round, create a calendar of "special" offers with add-ons. One twice a year? One each month? Visit my website at www.ruthklein.com to learn how I complement the services within my business with add-ons such as a content-rich CD, a personal consultation, a mini-course, and other services that are packaged as a free gift to sponsors or participants in my workshops, seminars, and other services.

3. Think Partnerships

To make your product or service unique, consider a partnership with a complementary (not competing) business to truly set yourself apart from similar businesses in your field. Airlines partner with vacation destinations Resort hotels partner with cooking schools. Banks partner with community events or popular charities. Partner your product with a service. Partner your service with a nearby restaurant, hotel, spa, printing service, local charity or complementary service.

4. Think Luxury

If a gift is a luxury, then think "luxury" as your calling card to drive clients to your business. Mobile spas are being asked to provide an on-site or off-site extra to services and product-providers. Incentives such as hotel stays being offered to employees of companies also can be offered to clients. Offer a gift of gourmet coffee at your place of business and add an extra gift of a package of gourmet coffee clients can take with them.

5. Think Long-Term

To keep driving customers to your business year-round, think of marketing strategies that will result in customer loyalty. Don’t just think Christmas. Think seasonal to market add-ons and partnership packages as a continuing "gift" strategy that will tie in by the wording of your campaign and the packaging of what you offer to fall, winter, spring, and summer.