How do we value customer relationships? We often think of customer relationships as the thing we do to connect with our customers such as sending newsletters, thank you cards, issuing challenges and other forms of communications. These are all good things, however the intention often driven by business metrics rather than radical hospitality and exceptional love. In the fitness industry, most strive to create lasting relationships and provide more for our clients than just movement. We are more transformational than transactional and that should change everything around how we approach our clients.
Whether you are a solopreneur or own a brick and mortar, understanding your CLV (customer lifetime value) is paramount to your business. We measure CLV by measuring the total income expected from a typical client for as long as that person remains a client. This is measured across all lines of sales the client utilizes. Raw data is important to drive business; however, it is critical that we don’t allow the data to be the only thing that dictates our customer relationship behaviors.
When data dictation becomes our driver we completely lose focus on the people and the opportunities in front of us to help them. Here are a few key metrics which can mirror data as a reminder to the REAL impact the business has:
- Correlating the hours of revenue to hours of opportunity in meeting needs and encourage clients. Ex: 100 hours trained this month is 100 times the opportunity to motivate and inspire someone. 100 times you have had the opportunity to genuinely ask how they are doing… and listen.
- Reframing the referral to an action of trust. When someone refers a friend or family member to you, it’s not because you’re so smart… it’s most likely because they trust you. That’s a big deal! The duplicative nature of trust can make your business unstoppable.
- Integrity seeks customer success over sales. If you notice high turnover in your business, chances are there is an integrity gap somewhere.
There’s a saying: Lifetime value for lifetime good, which means pouring into customers in a way that makes them feel valued and the cycle of business grows. This mindset allows you to move from provider to teammate and that’s where we want to be! As their teammate we are able to serve them longer increasing the CRV and creating a compound effect of good!
