Get, Keep, and Grow Customers

Once we have a customer, we do our best to try to get them to make a purchase, but rely on the same strategy over and over again in attracting customers to our business. The problem with this strategy is it ignores keeping and growing customers in your business. It costs anywhere between three to seven times more to attract a new customer than it is to keep an existing customer. Trying to find the same customer over again is costing you significantly. Aat the Turner Center, we focus on what is called the customer relationship hypothesis - which is to get, keep, and grow customers. This hypothesis is illustrated by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf through their LeanLaunch Pad model and in their book The Startup Owner’s Manual.

Getting customers (demand creation) drives customers into your chosen sales channel. This strategy focuses on the majority of customers creating awareness, interest, consideration, and purchases. These four activities together may seem simple at first, but it is actually the result of a complex interplay among customers, the sales channel, the value proposition, and the budget for marketing activities. Once you get this strategy right, you can start building a scalable, repeatable business. Keeping customers (retention) gives customers reasons to stick with the company and product. Our keep customer strategy focuses on interaction and retention. You have to deliver on your initial promise to customers, and get them to fall in love with your brand. Then develop programs to interact with, engage with, and retain customers. Growing customers involves selling them more of what they’ve bought as well as new and different products, encouraging them to refer new customers. Doing these activities bring in new sources of revenue for the company.

Speak with an advisor today to learn more about the LeanLaunch Pad Model and the “Get, Keep, Grow” your customers hypotheses. We have tools to help develop your strategy!