It’s no secret that, in the 21^st century, to be successful, companies need to think beyond the single transaction and focus more on the ‘lifetime value’ of each customer.

No longer can business owners rest on the assumption that customers who like a product or service will continue to buy.

Most markets are just too competitive and not maintaining contact with your customers can mean losing them forever, thus jeopardising the longevity of your business.

Existing customers are the most profitable source of income for any business. One, because winning this custom requires much lower (if any) advertising and promotional costs; and two, because this group have purchased from you before, they are more likely to have confidence in your product/service and make an even bigger order the next time round.

Arguably then, more time and attention should be devoted to retaining existing customers than is devoted to winning new ones.

Sadly (and rather disturbingly), this is not often the case.

It’s not a challenging task to employ a little relationship marketing in your business activities. Here are a few simple methods for maintaining contact with your customers in the interest of encouraging repeat purchases:

Send an email or letter out to your customer a couple of weeks after they made their purchase to see how they are getting on with the product/service and whether they need any help with anything.

Not only does this portray a caring attitude, it also serves as the perfect opportunity to collect a little market research on your customers’ preferences.

Send them a weekly/monthly/annual newsletter. During your dealings with the customer, kindly ask them if they would like to be part of your mailing list. Newsletters are a great way to show off your expertise in a particular field alongside keeping your brand fresh in the customer’s mind.

Send personalised messages on special occasions such as Christmas and Easter. If possible, you should try to capture each customer’s date of birth when they make their purchase, in order to send them personalised greetings on their birthdays.

Use social networking to maintain contact with your customers and keep them up to date on any developments in your company. Encourage customers to befriend or follow you on websites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook etc. You could also encourage them to subscribe to your blog.

Present them with special offers and exclusive discounts. Remember, these people are familiar with your company and your brand so are much more receptive to communications and special offers than ‘cold’ prospects would be. Use this to your advantage.

By putting these simple tips into practice you should see a substantial increase in the amount of repeat business that you and your company receive.