Stop focusing on getting new customers, and realize your existing customers are the ones keeping you in business.

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But who are the customers who are regularly walking in your door?

It’s obviously a combination of new and current customers, but unless you are a brand new business who just opened their doors, the majority of your customers are the ones who have been there before.

Would you say that current customers are crucial to the survival of your business? Yeah, we think so too.

5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25-100% increase in profit for your company. – Fred Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect

So, we know that losing a current customers is pretty much a death wish for a small business. However, after talking to thousands of small businesses, we still find that many owners and managers are putting the majority of their focus on potential or new customers.

Why should you avoid this? Why is customer loyalty and current customers more valuable than new or potential customers?

1.  Reliable, consistently increasing revenue is better than short, small bursts of it

80% of your sales come from only 20% of your customers. 

New or one time customers account for a only a small portion of your revenue. If you don’t keep your current customers coming back, that 80% of sales will slowly dwindle. The easiest and most predictable source of new revenue is right in front of you: It comes from the loyal customers who already know your small business.

So new or potential customers will not only spend less, but you’re also spending money to get them in the door. Both of these factors will cause hits to your bottom line. You don’t need to spend time, effort, or hard earned money advertising to current customers since they already know you.

You can offer them your premium-priced goods and services as they are much less likely to be sensitive to your prices as a return customer, which can increase your revenue.