There is nothing as important as the customers to your business. However, we are not going to be looking at all of them here. Our concern will be how to acquire high-value customers for your business. When we say high-value customers, does it mean there are different types of customers?
Yes, you would have the fair-weather ones that come once in a while and the new ones that just came in. The categories we are interested in here are those who are always around for you; and those stuck on the services you are offering.
Off the back of our heads, the best way to get this done is through customer relationship software (CRM). However, let us take things one step at a time.
High-Value Customers
Anyone who advocates for your business and attracts new people now and then is a high-value customer in our books. They could be individual clients, accounts, or organizations but the most important thing is that they make a significant impact on your company’s bottom line. One of the most common features of a high-value customer is that the survival/profitability of your business depends on them.
Finding high-value customers for your business is usually one of the hardest things to do. Looking for customers alone can be a whole lot more stressful. So, imagine when it comes to looking for the ones with high value to your business.
How to Acquire High-Value Customers
This is not the first time we have seen the question ‘how to acquire high-value customers and it won’t be the last. Some things bring this kind of people to your business and knowing them means you have done half the work. Some of these things include;
1. Creating Value/Luxury
Creating value is the simplest answer to how to acquire high-value customers. The truth is that they will stay once they are sure of the value you are offering. They will not just stay but they will also recommend you to their friends and family. This is ultimately why we call the high-value customers. It must not be luxury but make sure it looks like that. They only have to think it is a luxury to give their all to your business.
Most people would only talk about a product or service that they think the knowledge of makes them feel smarter. We all love you hear ‘oh, you know about them too, that’s nice. So, we have to make sure we put our business in a position that brings this effect. There is a reason people take more photos in fancy restaurants than they do in the local ones. If you are running a travel business, your service has to feel like a luxury. It has to look exclusive – looking and feeling might not mean it is but it gives you the desired result.
2. Being Intentional (How to Acquire High-Value Customers)
You just have to be sure you want high-value customers before you think of acquiring high-value customers. Getting them is a lot of work and keeping them is double the work. It is not a decision you take and then hold back on, once it begins, it has begun. Your business regardless of the sector it falls under has to first be of high value before it can attract high-value customers. Making your business high value has a lot to do with both your goods and services.
Do they find interacting and transacting with you easy, have their needs been satisfied, do you even know what their needs are? These are a few of the questions that you need to answer to be sure you are ready to acquire high-value customers.
3. Building a Community
A lot of businesses have chosen this strategy and the result is simply incredible. Building a community is the easiest way to acquire new customers and convert them into high-value customers in the shortest timeframe. The idea is to get people together in a space and make your business the subject matter. Allow customers to talk about their experiences with other new and existing members of the community.
Once you offer amazing services, their testimony will be the fuel that drives others to want the same experience. This way everybody becomes a high-value customer – advocating for you without even knowing it.
4. Being an Expert (How to Acquire High-Value Customers)
The world is going digital and one of the biggest issues is keeping up with things as the days go by. The phenomenon has pushed customers to experts rather than just goods and services that look beautiful. They want to be sure they are making the right decisions and you can guarantee their safety on your trip. One of the ways to be an expert is to normalize giving experiences you have had. It could be in the form of blog posts or social media content.
It must not be you talk about a place if you are into the travel business. You could also talk about topics particular to the travel business like COVID restrictions amongst other things.
5. Being an Active Member of Their Life
The brand they interact with when they are not buying is usually where they want to buy from when they are ready. This is one of the reasons why most businesses are on the internet now. Before asking how to acquire high-value customers, it means you have customers already. Most of these customers have birthdays and then there will be international holidays coming up. Try to remind your customers that you are there, part of their life even if they are not buying at the moment. Emailing is one of the ways this can work, surveys in the communities, games, and all will also help.
6. Great Customer Service/Support
High-value customers will say beautiful things about your store and get your new customers. However, before that, they would have used your services either for a business or a pleasure trip. The answer to how to acquire high-value customers is in your customer service. Did they get a chance to interact with you or a human during the process? Most people would love to get personalized customer service rather than the generic computerized option.
They would love to talk to someone and not fill out a form when they have issues. These little things count when you want to convert new and existing customers into high value ones.
7. Using the Right Channel and Content for Advertisement
Marketing your brand is something that you would always need to do. This is how to acquire new customers for your business. That being said, how you advertise is what determines if you get fair-weather customers or high-value customers. Where and with what covers the topic of how you advertise? The issue of where is one of the most important especially for startups. Understanding where your target audience can be found is the first step towards acquiring customers.
The popular saying is helicopters do not advertise themselves on television because those who can buy them do not watch TV. This is not true because everyone watches TV. What they mean here is advertising on the wrong channel is a waste of time and resources. The content also has to be engaging, this engagement is what pushes people to talk about your services.
8. Deals/Partnerships/Gifts – (How to Acquire High-Value Customers)
Everyone loves a kind gesture and repaying it is usually heavy on the mind of those who receive it. When your business continually provides quality for its customers, the only way the customers pay back is to bring in new customers. Hence becoming high-value customers for that business.
Also, think of what you can give to your community aside from the goods and services you offer. This will continually help you convert new and existing customers to high-value customers. It will also help you retain old high-value customers.
How to Identify Your Most Valuable Customers
One thing we have made known here is the fact that you will also be acquiring new customers with the steps we have listed above. If you still want to focus on getting new customers, you can check these 15 amazing ways out. We have talked about how to acquire high-value customers now let us look at how to identify them from the people we have.
- Compare your key performance indicators and know things like your best product or service.
- Calculate customer lifetime value, to see how this is done, click here.
- Start a customer loyalty program and see how they do
- Review the engagement metrics on your website and social media pages
How to Retain High Value Customers/How to Make Customers Feel Valued
We have talked about so many things but one that might still be confusing is the customer loyalty program. If you still need clarification there, check out all you need to know about the customer loyalty program. We have also answered the question of how to acquire high-value customers. Now the issue after getting them is how to retain them. Some of the ways you can retain your high-value customers include;
- When advertising; show reviews and experiences of others – testimony
- Consistency is a must as their loyalty reduces when they get less of what they bargained for
- Beating the expectations of loyal members is another way to keep them wanting more of what you have to offer.
- Ask for feedback when you can have conversations with your customers and keep records of this. When having new conversations with them, referring to these previous issues will help make them feel special.
- Reciprocate the love they show by acts of kindness
- Find the best way to measure your customer relationship from a single cloud suite. This is where a travel CRM comes in.
