Ten Ways to Keep Your Customers

1. Listen carefully to their problems

2. Ask them how you're doing. If the customer is unhappy, find out why.

3. If it's your fault, say so.

4. Offer to fix the problem.

5. Play customer yourself; check how your sales reps and your customer service staff are doing.

6. Make sure your Web site, your phone ordering system, and your order forms are easy to use.

7. Give your reps some leeway to make their own decisions (and help the customer).

8. Turn customers into evangelists. Lands' End replaced a shirt for me after I spilled cheese sauce on it. This happened many years ago, and I'm still a satisfied customer and I still talk about it.

9. If you're changing something, say so in clear English (avoid sounding like the fine print in a credit card agreement).

10. Thank them for their business (and mean it).

Satisfied customers stay with your company and keep buying from you. Plus, it's cheaper to market to existing customers than to prospect for new ones.