4 ways to create sticky customers
I have recently been writing about why sticky customers are so important
Hopefully, you agree with me and plan to build your own base of sticky customers.
But how does one create a sticky customer? Here are four ways to make it harder for clients to move to another supplier:
Data
As soon as you are getting involved with customer data you are on your way to stickiness. Firstly, hopefully, the customer will have carried out a detailed audit of your data security. They won’t want to do this every time they come across a potential new supplier.
Next, there is likely to have been work involved in creating the right data transfer process across you and your supplier. Maybe the customer has had to test or even adapt their API.
Finally, maybe you are creating or changing data for the customer. That is not something that they are going to change in a hurry.
Systems
You want to start integrating your customers’ systems with yours. Can they order through your portal? Or design their artwork online on your system? Better still, are your systems fully connected? For instance, does your invoicing automatically feed into their accounting system? Once a supplier is as integrated as this it is much harder to change vendor without a whole load of extra work and potential disruption and pain and work on APIs.
Stock management and fulfilment
Good stock management and fulfilment can save a client a lot of money and a lot of aggravation. Changing supplier doesn’t “just” mean transferring all the ordering and stock management systems to another supplier. There is also all the time and cost involved in moving stock and auditing it between old and new supplier. There has to be a huge potential gain to the customer to make this worthwhile.
Creating a learning journey
Often printing companies win work by introducing a customer to a new and better way of doing things. But once a customer understands what you are doing, they often tend to go and ask other suppliers to price what you are doing. Either you must reduce your price or you risk losing the work.
However, if you keep teaching your customer new things, they never get to the point where they understand what you are doing so it is hard for them to go out to other potential suppliers. For example, if you manage mailing for customers, start by reducing costs through list cleaning. Then start using personalised response mechanisms. Next, create targeted follow up mailings. After this, add augmented reality to a mailing. Because the customer is always learning from you and always doing something new that improves their results, they will want to stick with you.
Most printing companies can apply at least one of these strategies
Make sure that you are doing everything you can to make it hard for customers to move.
How do you create the right sales message for a sticky customer?
Check out How To Stop Print Buyers Choosing On Price. You learn a sales approach to attract the sticky customers that you want.
