Try as you might, some clients just won’t be in it for the long haul.  There is hope, however!

Client retention is arguably one of the most important aspects of your business.  It takes a lot of hard work, time and money to draw clients into your business, so it’s important that you work to keep these clients more than satisfied once they actually decide to work with your company.

To gain more referrals and keep your bottom line steady, look to retaining your current clients.

Here’s how:

Get to know your customers.  In the end, customers are going to like businesses that know them better as opposed to those that treat them like just another client. People like to be known and understood.

Have a feedback system.  There is no better way to improve your retention techniques than hearing from the customers themselves.

Set expectations for the client early.  If you can follow-through on what you promised weeks or even months earlier, that is going to be impressive to a client.

Be nice unexpectedly.  Giving a free gift or sending a quick follow-up message is great, but this actually works better if you can use the element of surprise to your advantage.

Anticipatory service > traditional customer service.  If you think it’s hard to believe that anything would be more important than customer service, you’re right.  With an anticipatory strategy, your company and/or sales team will try to anticipate any problems that might occur and then stop them before they happen.

Be proactive with your clients, establish a warm dialog and nurture the relationship for a long term, positive experience.

To read the entire article, please visit www.inc.com.