We’ve all seen advertising campaigns from banks and telecommunications companies that advertise a whole range of benefits for new customers. Wow, it sounds like a fantastic way to bring in new customers, right? If you are already a customer, how does that make you feel? You’ve been loyally giving them your business for several years but you can’t have access to these ‘new customer’ perks.

Large companies can afford to do this due to their size, but, as small business owners, we don’t have the luxury of an endless, nationwide list of potential customers. It’s so important for those of us with small businesses to maintain a loyal customer base, but, in order to grow, we also need to concentrate our time and energy on finding new customers. In terms of who to give your attention to, it can be a delicate balancing act. We don’t want to spend too much time looking for new clients as this could alienate our existing customers and they could take their business elsewhere. At the same time, if we are too focused on a core group of existing customers, our growth could stagnate.

How can we get the maximum value out of our existing customers and still find new ones to add to their ranks? How can we stop wasting, or even destroying, the existing relationships that we have with our customers? In this episode of the number one small business advice podcast, we’re speaking to marketing strategist and the author of Evergreen: Cultivate the Enduring Customer Loyalty That Keeps Your Business Thriving, Noah Fleming.

Noah knows just what’s required to build loyalty with your customers and he will sharing his expertise and experience with us in this episode.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast

How can small business owners maximize the value of their existing customers while also finding new ones?

About Noah

Noah Fleming is a strategic marketing expert and independent consultant who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs improve their skills when it comes to retaining loyal customers. He is considered a thought leader in his field and is the author of the bestselling Evergreen: Cultivate the Enduring Customer Loyalty That Keeps Your Business Thriving.

Noah’s extensive experience and innovative thinking has seen his clients increase their profits, customer value and competitive advantage while at the same time reducing their customer acquisition costs.

Noah’s also a renowned public speaker who has delivered keynotes and workshops for high profile clients around the world. He has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Globe and Mail. He’s here with us for this episode to share his insights into how we, as small business owners, can create a foundation of loyal customers that will help our small businesses grow.

Actionable Tips

* You should understand your character and create marketing that speaks from that character. Create a story that's interesting to your customers. Who are you and what do you want to be known for?
* Start to think about your community and what you can do to bring people together. There are so many different ways you can do this. Just let your customers engage with you and each other.
* Maximise the value of every customer. Reach out to customers that you haven't had contact with for a while. Ask customers for testimonials. Set yourself three tasks every day related to this and soon you will be reaping the rewards.



Top Quotes

* "The best companies and organizations that really maximize customer value and build that evergreen sense of customer loyalty are those focused on building a sense of community."
* "This is the bread and butter for small businesses. This is where the money is made."
* "We spend all this time creating a marketing...