Customer retention in manufacturing

In any business one of the most important things to learn is how to maintain a relationship with the customer. Loosing a customer cannot be made up for with gaining another one. A lost customer is simply someone who will spread bad reviews about your company. Furthermore, loosing a customer means spending many more dollars on targeted market advertising in order to get another one. As you can see, retaining a good customer is of the utmost importance. Not enough business pay close enough attention to their loyal customers. They spend thousands of dollars a year trying to advertise, but once they have a customer they seem unwilling to work to keep them. Manufacturing is no different when it comes to customer retention.

You might think that it would be less important in such a business where there is less contact between the actual manufacturer and the customer, but this is far from true. Think about car companies such as Toyota or Honda. They have been encredibely successful because they have developed a reputation for quality in manufacturing. The same is true for brands like Kenmore or Whirlpool. People actually seem to stick with particular brands of manufacturers more than they do with other products.

This is probably because manufacturing often produces large expensive goods that represent a large investment on the part of the consumer. There is also something respectable about a good manufacturer-people get a sense of great craftsmanship from a manufacturere that can produce a sturdy product. This is largely why customer retention is so important in manufacturing. Once a customer is lost they are lost forever and so is your reputation.

In order to maintain customers in manufacturing you need, above all else, to produce a quality product. This can be done partly by comparing your product to other similar manufacturers. Quality is also maintained through excellent customer service and through warranties. A good reputation cannot be established overnight; it takes several years to gain a faithful customer base. Another way you can help to gather a large and loyal customer base is to offer your customers good deals. A combination of quality and good prices will help you to gain a loyal customer for life.

One reason why it is so important to keep loyal customers, or any customer at all, is that it costs much more to gain a new customer or to try to win one back than it is to keep a loyal customer. The sheer amount of money that goes into advertising is proof of this. When customers are lost they also tend to spread bad rumors about. If you can't gain loyal customers through a reputation for excellent quality and good customer service you will spend thousands trying to gain new customers.

Although it might not be the most popular or easy of methods your customer retention will largely be based on the hard work associated with creating a good product. When you plan a new manufacturing venture plan to build a tradition of quality and good customer relations. If your name is associated with this type of quality you will be able to retain customers in a manufacturing industry. An advertising campaign designed to restore customer confidence after a poor track record will cost your business thousands if not millions of dollars. The American auto makers area case in point. Although Ford and GMC now produce quality cars but they are having a very difficult time regaining the confidence of the American people. In time it might return, but it will only be after millions of dollars spent in advertising.