This lesson is harsh but valuable. When your regulars come in, listen
to them and act on what they say. If they aren’t happy move
heaven and earth to make sure you fix whatever it is that is making
them unhappy. You have to start seeing them in terms of their
lifetime value and yearly value and not just in terms of that unique
sale.
Too often we just regard our regulars as part of the furniture and
take them for granted. So why not walk up to a couple of them
today and simply thank them for their custom and see if there is
anything you can do better for them!
70 .Wake up and smell the profit
Hugo – true story
A little over ten years ago I had a customer
with a chain of sandwich bar cafés who ran
into some financial problems. Ultimately
they did a deal with their creditors and we ended up taking
quite a substantial loss. It was a difficult time for the customer
and a difficult time for our growing business. I was cross and
ranted and raved to my brother that I’d never do business with
them again.He listened quietly and then sat me down with a set of figures.
He showed me how much gross profit we had made from the
customer in the past and how much he predicted the customer
would provide in the future. I calmed down.