[Hostnetric]

This is a great subject John. I believe that to many times webmasters focus to much on new customers and not enough about keeping the existing ones.

Some things we can do is focus on outstanding customer service for one. Even if we make a mistake or for even the customer we should not give them an excuse about policies or even place blame. We should simply take a look at the situation and see how we can best solve the issue quickly and to the satisfaction of both parties. The trick here is making sure the customer feels that you value their business.

Another thing that is not looked at enough is what can we offer to further enhance our services or products to create even more value for our customers. If your competitor is coming up with new and novel ideas or even new ways to package existing services then you stand to lose alot of your customer base to them. You have to always be striving to find ways to increase the perceived value of your company in the eyes of your customers.

Happy existing customers are going to recommend you to others they know. This is a cheap form of advertising for one and also in the eyes of these friends your company is allready trusted because their friend trusts you.

Remember this:

Success is not handed to you it is earned.