11 Ways to Double Your Customer Base

#7 How Retaining Employees Leads to More Customers

                Hiring, developing, and retaining great employees is the lifeblood of growth in a business. It can mean the difference between a company that explodes to the top of its industry and one that flatlines. Business owners who can consistently attract and retain great people stand to gain immensely in profits while businesses with high turnover dump tens of thousands of dollars down the drain each year. This fact is exacerbated by the current employment environment because if you lose someone right now, you may be hard-pressed to find a replacement. So how do you retain the people that you have, and how does that impact the quantity of customers that you have?

How do you retain employees?

                First, by empowering them. It starts when you hire them. What are their goals, both personally and professionally? What is important to them? What are their values? If you can’t answer these questions about your employees, you need to go back and ask them. How can you expect to motivate them when you don’t know what drives them?

                Second, help your team grow. Employees feel valued when business owners invest in them to help them to further their careers and enhance their skillsets. We often hear employers who are fearful that if they train their employees, they will leave, but what if you don’t train them and they stay? Employees are a depreciating asset (and so are you!) if they are not learning. That’s why you see companies send their employees to sales and marketing workshops, trade shows, and conventions. Sponsoring continuing education like an MBA or night school to get advanced certifications can help your employees feel fulfilled and appreciated by you and will incentivize them to stay with your company longer.

How does this lead to more customers?

                Employees who are equipped with the latest knowledge, skills, and tricks of the trade will be much more capable of landing bigger deals, doing a more thorough job, being more efficient, and speaking more passionately about their role and your company. Furthermore, there is the familiarity factor as people like doing business with people they know, and tenured employees have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with customers.

When we talk about creating “raving fans”, that includes your employees. Your employees come across people every day, and the more knowledge and passion they have for your organization, the more they will talk highly of your company and products. In the same way you create a “ladder of loyalty” See "How to Create Raving Fans and Get More Referrals" for customers, you can create that for your employees through your hiring, onboarding, support systems and culture within your business. This will dramatically increase your chances of attracting and retaining great people for your business, and give them the ability to drive more business, and increase your customer base!