treat

How should you treat your best customers?

Here’s what most businesses do with their best customers: They take the money.

The biggest fan of that Broadway show, the one who comes a lot and sits up front? She’s paying three times what the person just three rows back paid.

That loyal Verizon customer, the one who hasn’t traded in his phone and has a contract for six years running? He’s generating far more profit than the guy who switches every time a contract expires and a better offer comes along.

Or consider the loyal customer of a local business. The business chooses to offer new customers a coupon for half off—but makes him pay full price…

If you define “best customer” as the customer who pays you the most, then I guess it’s not surprising that the reflex instinct is to charge them more. After all, they’re happy to pay.

But what if you define “best customer” as the person who brings you new customers through frequent referrals, and who sticks with you through thick and thin? That customer, I think, is worth far more than what she might pay you in any one transaction. In fact, if you think of that customer as your best marketer instead, it might change everything.

Seth Godin

You Are What You Tweet: Content & Company Define Us

As little as two or three years ago for most of us, we relied on information mainly from the mainstream media.  Today, the internet is content rich (and of course has been for longer than a few years) and with “everyday” folks like me joining Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, etc. the content available is incomprehensible.  I could go into all the stats available to support it, but since that’s not where I’m headed, I’ll skip that.  Where I am headed is this: you are defined, categorized, listed, judged and perceived by both the content you post AND the company you keep.

Yes, I said that and—although I don’t have the metrics to prove it—I can tell you from my own personal experience online that it’s very true.  I have tweeted “You are what you Tweet” and what I mean by that is this: If you want to be recognized for a certain type of skill, industry, vocation, cause, etc, tweet 80% of content about or relevant to that subject(s). A new 80-20 rule:  I tell clients to post 80% about business related content and 20% other stuff.  What’s other stuff? I say reserve it for this: fun with other Twitter friends, hobbies, and family—but not too much.  I think this is a good formula in general for keeping your “stream” valuable and credible, yet interesting while simultaneously demonstrating that you are indeed a real person with a sense of humor and knack for attracting like-Tweeters.  Ah-ha!

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