Retaining Customer Loyalty

Lauren · Posted: February 22, 2006, 10:52 pm Post subject: Retaining Customer Loyalty

Mommy's Helper - Mom's Market Ezine
Issue #118
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

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Editor's Rambling:
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Note from Anita

If you haven?t seen it yet, I launched a new little project on Monday. After watching too many direct sales reps playing the ?vulture game? on various message boards - you know what I?m talking about, those who seem to jump down the throats of any warm body who may seem to have the slightest interest in starting a home business ? shoving business opportunity after business opportunity at them until ultimately the prospect becomes confused, overwhelmed and unfortunately sometimes decides to give up on the whole idea. I decided it was time to create a system that helps bring together both the recruiter and prospect.

The Daily Home Business Report is set up so that prospects can sign up to an autoresponder to be sent one business profile each day until they choose the business that fits them best. This depletes the research time saving both the prospect and the recruiter time ? time that would be better spent on more important aspects such as building your business and training recruits. You can find more details about this at http://direct-sales-news.blogspot.com/2006/02/bringing-prospects-and-recruiters.html

On another note?
Unfortunately, it looks as though one of my favorite places to get our childcare articles is about to close down its doors. I really prefer to publish articles from fellow work at home moms and if I could get a few subscriber?s articles well, that?d be just fantastic. If you have any articles that has anything to do about kids ? please do email them to me at mommyshelperonline@yahoo.com (Please put MHMM Article Submission in the subject line)

Till next week...

~Anita DeFrank
Mommy's Helper

Note from Kara

This week will be kept short and sweet since I'm dealing with a sick kid. It's not that he's too terribly sick (I think it's basically just a cold upsetting his stomach), but either way he doesn't want to be. I'm currently dealing with pleas to let him go to school. It's great he loves school so much, but such a headach when he's sick and can't go. I shouldn't complain - I know years will go by and I'll long for the preschool days again!

Even though I'm a little distracted today, I'm pushing forward with my own new project. It's actually a new website that revolves around affiliate programs. I've been wanting to jump back into affiliate marketing for some time now, and this site was the right place to start. It was finished over the weekend, and armed with my copy of Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner, it's ready to be promoted. Well, at least tweeked and THEN promoted. This week is all about progress!

See you next week!

~Kara Kelso~
Mom's Market

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Article
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Retaining Customer Loyalty

Retaining customers is most crucial to a company's long- term performance, but strangely, an aspect that completely confounds managers across every industry all the time. This seems rather illogical because it is surely far easier and cheaper over a long period to retain an old customer than to make a new one. For your business to succeed, you need to realize that the returns you get from a loyal customer is far more in comparison to that which you get from one new purchase.

Over the years it will be seen that it takes much less effort to make a customer do repeat purchase than to look for a new customer every time. It is always cheaper and more effective to maintain your existing customers. If you have a lot of repeat satisfied customers then it will naturally build up your brand name and reputation. The repeat purchasers are the source from where new customers are introduced. This happens because the old customer spreads the word about your good product and services. There can be no better advertising than this.

Since new customers are normally introduced through old ones, your existing customers help promote your business anyway. On an average, a new customer requires at least seven visits before he buys something from you; an effort that is greatly reduced if an old client refers you. So you save not only money but time and effort too. Look after your existing customers and they will ensure that your business succeeds and grows with time.

Building customer loyalty is not a very difficult task. By staying in touch with your regular customers, and at the same time keeping an eye on the needs of prospective clients, you can be ready with the type of service thy are looking for. Customer surveys and feedback, loyalty programs etc. are of great value in this field. By meeting their requirements at the very outset, fulfilling them or going beyond them, you will win your customers over and ensure that they will want to continue their association with you, which is what you were looking for in the first place!

If you give your clients incentives for continuing to do business with you, they will pay attention to what you have to say to them. On the other hand, if they feel a lack of interest in your approach, they are sure to leave you. So take care of your current customer base; you are where you are because of them and if they weren't there, you wouldn't be either!

Scott F. Geld is the Administrator of Marketing Blaster, Inc, a pay-per-click traffic source that continually out performs the other major search engines in conversion ratio and ROI. Dont believe it check out: www.marketingblaster.com

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Childcare
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A to Z - 26 Activities for You and Your Child

Aa?Arrange all of the clothes in your child?s closet by color, from lights to darks or to resemble a rainbow. Not only will you be teaching your child about colors and matching, it?ll give you a chance to weed out those clothes that are too small or no longer worn.

Bb?Build a playhouse out of assorted boxes. Cake boxes stacked on top of a bigger box makes for a great roof. Get creative and help your child decorate the outside of the main box with crayons, markers, or glue and bits of fabric.

Cc?Color a picture with your child. Make sure both of you sign the beautiful masterpiece before you hang it up. Be different?Maybe a purple cloud or a blue horse. Let your imagination equal your child?s.

Dd?Donate old toys and clothing to a local charity or shelter. A child is generally very giving. Let them pick out things to donate. You?ll probably be surprised at all of the items your child will gather up. Let your child know where the things are going and who will benefit from them.

Ee?Eat a meal that your child has created the menu for. One night of Spaghetti-O?s and ice cream won?t hurt. The next night, you can get silly! For example, you must eat all of your dessert before you can have any dinner. That will bring a grin to your special little one?s face.

Ff?Flowers make great collages. Collect flowers, grass and other growing pretties with your child. Then, let him/her glue them to paper or press them in a book.

Gg?Guessing games are fun and can be as imaginative as you like. Guess how many cans are in the cupboard?How many cups of water can fit into a pitcher?How many socks are in a drawer. Let your child decide what guessing game to play.

Hh?Help your child make a card or picture for someone special. Use everyday items like buttons, magazine cut outs, and bits of thread.

Ii?Ice cream sundaes can be messy, but they are always fun to make. Add a little food coloring to vanilla to create different colors. Raisins and oatmeal sprinkles make unusual toppings with a tasty flair.

Jj?Jumping rope is something not all of us have a talent for; however, there are a lot of games that you can play using a jump rope. Lay the rope on the ground and see what letters and shapes you can make with it. Maybe it?s a tightrope that you have to carefully walk across.

Kk?Keep a jar with a cover. Let your child put all the ?treasures? that she/he finds into the jar. ?Junk Jars? are wonderful mementos of a childhood. When it gets full just start another one. Add to it little things that you find?Earrings with no match, marbles, key chains?Anything that will fit into the jar. When your child is older, she/he will love going through it and looking at all the things that have been collected over the years.

Ll?Love your child every single day! A hug or a kiss can bring a lot of security to a child. Write a love note and put it in his/her lunch. Leave a valentine on the fridge, even if it?s not Valentine?s Day. You?ll get so much back in return.

Mm?Make a dream list with your child. Things that you and your child would like to see change, things you both want to accomplish in your lifetimes, anything that you can think of. Look at this list often with your child and see if anything has changed or been accomplished.

Nn?Notebooks are a great way to keep memories. Set aside one day each month to recap all the things that have happened. Write them down and decorate the page with a sticker or picture. The next month, look at what happened the month before and update with current happenings. Make sure you have your child?s input and point of view.

Oo?Open a savings account with your child. Many banks offer children a no fee account. Usually, there is only a one dollar opener required. When the statement comes each month, teach your child how the interest works. Go to the library and learn about it with your child if you are not sure or make an appointment to speak with a bank representative. Bank representatives will sit down with you and your child to explain the whole savings account process. Your child will learn about saving and money management. Let your child do odd jobs around the house to earn a little to put into their account. Let them do the transaction, if they are old enough to write.

Pp?Pretend that you are the child and that the child is the parent. Don?t be a perfect child though. Let your child make disciplinary decisions for something done wrong. You can learn a lot about your child when the roles are reversed.

Qq?Quiet time is wonderful! Lay down with your child and share a story or a special event from the day. Children love to talk and always want someone to listen.

Rr?Relive your childhood by telling your child stories about when you were young. Maybe you tried to dig a hole to the other side of the earth?Or maybe you thought that penguins lived in the fridge to turn out the light when you closed the door. Children love to hear stories about when their parents were young. Something you thought was devastating as a child may be hilarious to your child. Shared laughter is a special kind of love.

Ss?Silly day is a favorite with children. Start the day off by putting on clean pajamas. Do only silly things for the whole day! Have dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Have dessert for lunch. Put on your regular clothes for bedtime. Let your child come up with some silly ideas too.

Tt?Teach your child a trick. Can you pull a quarter out of someone?s ear? Maybe you can touch your feet to your head. Anything that a child might be able to do is a wonderful and often funny experience. Then, let your child teach you how to do something that they know how to do. Even if you already know how to do it, let them instruct you because it will help build confidence and leadership in your child.

Uu?Use spoons to eat with all day. No matter what it is, use a spoon. A spoonful of spaghetti is a riot! Try not to serve things that are normally eaten with a spoon though. Also, make sure all items are cooled down because they are more than likely going to be dropped and spilled.

Vv?Vegetables are a great art medium. What can you make out of veggies? Carrot and celery sticks with peanut butter glue can be put together to create wonderful designs. What else can you think of to use? Ask your child what vegetables they would like to create with.

Ww?Water is great! Let your child take a plastic fireman?s helmet into the shower. It?s like playing in the rain. During the summer, a little bubble bath in a plastic wading pool makes for a great outdoor bath. Bubbles will be all over everything, much to the child?s delight.

Xx?X-ray drawings are easy to do. Some call them ?shadow? or ?silhouette? drawings. Tape a piece of paper to a wall. Then, face a lamp so that it shines on the paper. Sit in a position that puts your shadow onto the paper. Have your child trace your shadow. When the tracing is finished, have your child remove the paper from the wall and color it in. It will always be a perfect portrait when it?s done with the love and creativity of a child.

Yy?Yelling contests are a great way to let off steam and relieve stress. Stand in the back yard with your child and just scream about all the things that are really bugging you. ?I don?t like having to clean my room!? can make a child feel great. ?I don?t like having to pay bills!? will take the edge off of this tedious chore. This is also a way of opening up the lines of communication. Listen to what your child is yelling. Don?t lecture during a yelling contest. This is just a way of _expression.

Zz?Zippers, shoelaces, snaps and buttons all help your child to develop fine motor skills. It will take practice, but your child will learn and know the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction in the end. Do not let your child get to the point of frustration. If your child starts to get aggravated, take a break! You could suggest doing something else or tell your child a story about how it took you a long time to learn a certain skill. Let your child know that you?re not perfect either and that most things take a lot of practice. Make sure you point something out that they have learned because they didn?t give up.

There are so many things that we can do with our children if we make the time. A lot of parents time is spent on important things, but five minutes here and there isn?t going to break anyone?s schedule.

Until next time?

Stay busy and hug your precious little one!

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Kimie Bringle - Marketing Executive
# 603-382-1905 (Home)
# 603-251-8527 (Fax)
FourPoint Moms - Helping Moms Stay Home!
http://kimie.fourpointmoms.com
Ready to Start? Call Today!

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Coffee Break
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Counting Cracks

?Lisa Barker

If you step on a crack, you?ll break your mother?s back. Do you remember this old rhyme?

Nowadays, the rhyme is: Show your crack and you?ll give your mother a heart attack.

I?ve already warned my kids about this. If I see one crack or one pair of underwear peeping from their jeans, I will hoist away. Wedgies ahoy!

So far they have taken me seriously. But it?s all I can do to not worry that I?m talking into the wind. Every time we go to Church for the youth service there?s a sea of cracks in every pew.

When did we get so casual? When did I get so old? And how comfortable can it be if you have to constantly tug your t-shirt down and your pants up?

I?m becoming the older generation.

My friend and I were musing about this the other day when we were shopping at an outdoor mall. We passed one little store dedicated to youth. We guessed that the amplified noise was music, but we couldn?t decipher the words. Even the sale signs confused us. Were they selling music, clothes, tattoos, images? Or was it just a place to hang out with rings in your nose and hair dyed darker than coal?

We shuffled off, a bit leery of the clientele that was mutually and cautiously checking us out.

God, help me if my children ever look like that. I remember a time when it was considered a sign that you lacked intelligence if your pants hung that low.

But, thanks to modern fashion, there is more than a just few cracks out there to make you shudder. Some fashions should have been laid to rest and never brought back to life. I?m talking about bell-bottom pants and poet shirts. What?s next? Side-burns? Gold chains tangled in chest hair? Shag carpets? On the ceiling?

Maybe Elvis IS alive and well. Maybe they resurrected him, too. No surprise. If he is now the same weight as when he died, I?m sure the King sports a royal crevice of his own and fits right in.

Now, some say: if you?ve got it, flaunt it. But we don?t see kids walking around with t-shirts that read:

Never been there, never done that?and don?t want to.
26 and still a virgin.
Of course, I don?t smoke!
I drive sober!
I worked hard and have the grades to prove it.

Is that because failure has become the American dream? Or has the ?everything goes? thinking crowded out real achievement and virtue?

No worries, though. We are due for this younger generation to rebel. I do believe we have a new bunch of people who will stand for more than how much derriere they show, even if it?s giving this mom a heart attack in the process.

It?s the cracking dawn of a new generation.

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Jelly Mom? is written by Lisa Barker and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press /Parent To Parent and is available for newspapers, websites, e-zines and newsletters. For more information and details, please contact editor@parenttoparent.com

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Recipes
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CARMEL APPLES

* 2 packages (14oz) bags caramels
* 1/4 cup Water
* 8 Medium apples

In slow cooker/Crock Pot, combine caramels and water. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently. Wash and dry apples. Insert stick into stem end of each apple. Turn control on low. Dip apple into hot caramel and turn to coat entire surface. Holding apple above pot, scrape off excess accumulation of caramel from bottom apple. Place on greased wax paper to cool.

Do you have a favorite recipe to share?
Post them at Mommy's Helper Community (www.MommysHelperOnline.com/phpBB2)!
Note: Recipes must be quick, easy, healthy, and original. Nothing from a cookbook or a box please.

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