It's really a great feeling to know that your customers are loyal.

Hah! That's what you think!

Your customer will shop around at other framers if they don't get the respect or attention they think they deserve.

Generally, customers like to stay with one business if they are treated fairly.

You can do your part by providing quality framing and by keeping in touch through promotional mailings.

Why Do I Need A Relationship With My Customer?

Because every customer who is framing with you consistently over a long period of time can bring you $5000 to $20,000 or more.

Add up the value of these customers and you'll quickly see in dollars and cents how important they are.

Think Long Term.

The lifetime value of a customer is measured by the many visits a customer pays to you over the period of time that they are in your vicinity. Now there are exceptions.

I still have customers who live 500 miles away and still do business with me. This is just not loyalty. The customer really trusts me to take care of them and they keep coming back.

They are used to me, they've used me a number of times and they may have even shopped around a bit, but they come back because of the trust built up over a period of time.

TIP - Take care of your customer and they will take care of you.

This doesn't happen overnight.

Start keeping track of your customers through your computer and you'll soon find out that some are spending $1000 or more per year with you.

It doesn't take a math genius to figure out 100 customers spending $1000 per year equals $100,000.

The Lifetime Value Customer

As a low end example, if your customer only spends $1000 a year with you, that's less than $84 a month.

Multiply that one customer, who sticks around for a long time, by only fifty (and you will probably have many more) and now you're up to $50,000 a year just in a few customers whom you can call "lifetime value customers"

I have a long list of customers who each year spend over $1000, $2000, and $3000. You will do the same thing after you open your doors and "take care of your customers".

I love my computer and the programs that tell me to the penny, how much each and every customer has spent with me.

Currently, I use Quick Books Pro for my customer database.

I hand write my invoice in front of the customer and then later it is keyed in to the Quick Books program, usually within a day.

However, there are fantastic picture framing programs that will do everything from point of sale to keeping track of inventory and do your accounts receivables and payables.

Point Of Sale means you are computerizing the transaction as you are conducting it with the customer. This is the ideal way.

I've heard good reviews about "Full Calc" which is a picture framing software. It's listed on our "suppliers" page.

I bring all this up because you DO want to know who is doing business with you on a regular basis and how much they are spending in your shop.

How Long Is The Lifetime Value Of A Customer?

It could be six months, six years, sixteen years.

Some people move more frequently than others, so there is an attrition factor happening all the time.

You'll discover this every time you do a mailing. You'll get letters back that say "moved - no forwarding address". Those customers you delete.

After many mailings, those customers that are still on your database and still do business with you are the lifetime value customers.

Without the lifetime value of many customers, your business will not survive.

Treat your customer right with Quality and Service (emphasized) and you won't have to worry about the lifetime value. It will always be there for you more than a hundred fold.

Having been in business since 1981, the children of my customers are now coming in to have their pictures framed! Do you think they were referred by their parents?

I leave you with a tip.

TIP - If your customers are computerized on a database, you can do "special" mailings to the high rollers who have spent a minimum amount of money with you over a six month period. Offer them an incentive certificate that is like a gift certificate. It could be any amount...$50 for those spent $1000 in six months...$100 gift certificate for those who spent $2000 or more and so on. This is cheap compared to the return you will receive from the mailing.

And tell them WHY you are sending them the gift certificate...."because they are special and have reached a level of recognition with you". (Everyone loves to be recognized!)