Business is all about making money, right? But the real key to success isn’t just making a lot of money – it’s also about knowing how to manage and service your customer base efficiently. And that’s where an external customer comes into play.
In business, an external customer is a vital asset because they are the ones who help drive demand and growth.
Learning to boost their loyalty to your brand is the most important thing you can do for its success. Let’s see why external customers are important and how you can make them stick to your products/services.
What is an external customer?
Having an external customer is a key benefit of running a business. These customers are the organizations or people who purchase goods and/or services from you. They are vital in helping you benchmark your own performance and provide valuable feedback that can be used to improve your business. As a business owner, it’s important to know what makes an external customer tick so that you can attract them and benefit from their patronage. Factors that are important to external customers include:
- High value
- Quality service
- Excellent customer experience.
External customers are always demanding better service. They’re also more likely to influence others to buy from or partner with your business, which can lead to increased revenue and growth for your business. So if you want to be successful in business, make sure you understand what an external customer is and why it matters!
Why does an external customer matter in business?
They’re The Main Revenue Source
Businesses rely on external customers to generate the revenue they need to stay afloat. Without them, your business would quickly come to a halt. Keeping your key customer groups happy is essential for keeping their spending power high and generating repeat sales.
Having a customer retention strategy in place will help you avoid losing customers who might be more difficult or expensive to replace. By doing so, you can ensure that your business continues running smoothly – no matter what!
They’re Your Word of Mouth Marketers
Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful tools a business can rely on. And as your customers are your biggest advocates, it’s important to make sure you nurture and keep them happy – this will help promote word-of-mouth marketing for you.
By providing excellent service, keeping your products a value for their money, and responding quickly to complaints, you’ll have a high number of satisfied customers. As a result, they’ll tell others about their good experiences with your business.
They help you scale your business
External customers are the lifeblood of any business. External customer retention is one of the most important factors that determine a company’s success or failure. The higher the customer count you have, the easier it is to convert them into loyal customers – which leads to more funding down the line.
Moreover, your customer count dictates how much money you can secure from investors or lenders in the future, as they rely on your numbers to make investment decisions. So increasing your customer base should be at the top of your list when looking to grow your business.
They can provide valuable feedback to improve your product or service
External customers are the ones who use your product or service, so they can offer valuable feedback. Because they are using it on a day-to-day basis, their experience can help you improve things for everyone involved!
When you understand what external customer wants and needs, making better decisions about your product development and manufacturing processes becomes much easier.
How to Maintain External Customer Loyalty?
Offer Top-Notch Customer Service – Quickly Resolve Complaints
Customer service is one of the most important aspects of running a business. Ensuring customers have an excellent experience and that their grievances are quickly resolved greatly builds customer loyalty.
This can be achieved through proactive measures like creating customer satisfaction surveys, setting up quick response teams to address complaints as soon as they surface, and ensuring all employees are trained on how to provide polite and professional customer service.
By doing all this, businesses can ensure that they retain top-tier customers who feel appreciated and valued – two key ingredients for brand loyalty!
Reward for Loyalty
There are a lot of reasons why rewarding customers for their loyalty is a good idea. Firstly, it makes happy customers who may return again and recommend your business to others.
Secondly, it helps you identify new potential customers as the current ones promote your company for rewards.
Rewarding customer loyalty can help promote your business more effectively by building brand awareness and strengthening customer relationships.
Stay Connected via Social Media
Social media is an incredibly effective way of staying connected with your customers. By monitoring and engaging with your customers via social media channels, you can keep them updated on your company’s latest news and developments.
In turn, this will position your brand in your customer’s minds. So the next time they want to buy something that you offer, your name will pop up first.
For instance, which brand will pop up if you want luxury, beautiful and feature-rich phones? I bet it’s Apple. That’s because they’ve communicated the quality of their phones with effective marketing. You can replicate the same via social media.
To be successful on social media, it’s important to have a social media team that stays connected with the followers.
Offer Convenience
Customer convenience is essential for a successful business. It helps ensure that your customers feel comfortable and confident about interacting with you, making the purchase, and getting items delivered fast.
This will result in increased customer loyalty and increased sales. The gist is you need to make the buyer’s journey from awareness to purchase as easy and convenient as possible.
Parting Words
In the end, being an excellent customer service is all about knowing your customer and what they need. Whether it’s a big brand or a small one, your customers should always be happy. And when they are, you can expect them to spend more money on you down the road.
The fact that most companies are oblivious to external customers makes the quality of their products and services slip. It is time for them to stop being complacent, pay attention to what their external customers say, and start creating better offerings!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between an internal and external customer?
A: Internal customers are individuals or departments within your organization that rely on your products or services to perform their job functions. External customers, on the other hand, are the end-users or clients who purchase your products or services for their own use or benefit.
Q: How can I identify my external customers?
A: To identify your external customers, consider who ultimately uses or benefits from your products or services. They can be individual consumers, businesses, or organizations. Analyze your sales data, conduct market research, and gather customer feedback to gain insights into your external customer base.
Q: What are some effective ways to gather feedback from external customers?
A: There are several methods to collect feedback from external customers, including:
- Surveys (online, email, or in-person)
- Customer interviews
- Focus groups
- Social media monitoring
- Review sites and online forums
- Customer support interactions
Q: How often should I reach out to external customers for feedback?
A: The frequency of seeking customer feedback depends on your industry, product lifecycle, and customer engagement strategy. However, it’s generally recommended to gather feedback regularly, such as after a purchase, at key milestones, or periodically (e.g., quarterly or annually). Ensure you don’t overwhelm customers with too many requests.
Q: What should I do with the feedback I receive from external customers?
A: When you receive feedback from external customers, take the following steps:
- Analyze the feedback to identify common themes, issues, or suggestions.
- Prioritize the feedback based on its impact and feasibility.
- Share the feedback with relevant teams or departments within your organization.
- Develop action plans to address the feedback and improve your products, services, or customer experience.
- Communicate with customers about the changes or improvements you’ve made based on their feedback.
Q: How can I measure the loyalty of my external customers?
A: Some standard metrics to measure external customer loyalty include:
- Repeat purchases
- Customer lifetime value (CLV)
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Customer satisfaction scores (CSAT)
- Customer retention rate
- Referral rate
- Engagement metrics (e.g., social media interactions, email open rates)
Sources for More Information
- [“The Importance of External Customers”](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-external-customers-michael-de-munnik) by Michael de Munnik on LinkedIn
- [“Why External Customers Are Important for Your Business”](https://www.thebalancesmb.com/why-external-customers-are-important-for-your-business-4156595) by Laura Lake on The Balance Small Business
- [“The Importance of Customer Feedback and How to Get It”](https://www.helpscout.com/blog/customer-feedback/) by Emily Triplett Lentz on HelpScout
- [“10 Proven Ways to Measure Customer Satisfaction”](https://www.qualtrics.com/experience-management/customer/how-to-measure-customer-satisfaction/) by Qualtrics
- [“Customer Loyalty: What It Is, Why It’s Important, and How to Build It”](https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-loyalty) by Sophia Bernazzani on HubSpot
- [“The Ultimate Guide to Customer Loyalty”](https://www.shopify.com/blog/customer-loyalty) by Alexandra Sheehan on Shopify
- [“Feedback From External Customers – Why It Matters and How You Can Act on It”](https://www.netigate.net/articles/customer-experience/feedback-from-external-customers/) by Netigate
