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Best Friends
FOREVER When managed well, customer loyalty saves a company both time and money. // By Jeanine Nistler
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BusinessCentral Magazine.com // S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4
elcoming new customers to your business is exciting. Keeping those customers requires strategy, effort, and teamwork, but the rewards are worth the work. “The value of a repeat or loyal customer is generally that they are frequent shoppers, and they spend more,” said Dennis Host, Coborn’s senior vice president of marketing and communications. “You have already won them over. They value your brand, the quality of products or variety you offer, the services you deliver, and they prefer to spend their money with you versus elsewhere. They are likely a smaller percentage of your total customer base, but the largest percentage of your total sales. This is a group of customers we work hard at protecting.” Not only do loyal customers add to your bottom line by returning and spending again and again – they can attract new customers in a way that advertising cannot, said Christy Gilleland, owner of Gilleland Chevrolet. “Repeat business reduces the need for extensive marketing efforts to attract new customers. New customers cost so much more – as much as double or triple – to advertise to,” she said. In an article on Business.com, business advisor Max Freedman said “word-of-mouth marketing, fueled by customer loyalty, produces compelling brand advocacy. We trust recommendations from friends