How to start a conversation with your customer

Start a conversation with your customer? I know, it sounds crazy. Why in the world would you want to talk to the very people who choose to do business with you?

I trust you can see my tongue poking through my cheek, but the truth is, most businesses give lip service to the idea of starting a conversation with their customers, but few actually do.

Let’s agree on a few points right up front:

It’s cheaper to keep a customer than to get a new one.

It’s cheaper to sell more to a current customer than to make the first sale to a new customer.

There’s no better marketing than word of mouth, which usually comes from your current customers

Those truths would suggest that our current clients are pretty important to our business’ long-term success. Despite that fact, most businesses executives:

Don’t invest enough of their marketing budget/efforts on their current customers.

Don’t routinely thank (other than the pre-printed thank you at the bottom of your invoice) current clients.

Don’t listen enough to their current customers.

This begs the question: Why in the world do we ignore our best bet at success?