Calculating The True Value of Your Customers

We want to spend money on things we want, not things we need.

Do you really want to pay a mortgage, car payment, doctor bill, income taxes, or anything that you "have to" pay?

Probably not.

So these types of businesses need to make it as painless as possible for their customers to take care of business and move on with their life. Maybe they can do something nice for their customers every once in awhile too.

Let's look at the "want" based businesses.

Nearly every Friday night, I take my wife out to one of her favorite restaurants. Usually just the two of us. And it is usually a place about a mile from our home that has a spectacular view overlooking a pond with plenty of wildlife. And it is right in the city.

I've had better food. I've had less expensive food. But this is a "want" in our lives.

We've introduced hundreds of people over the years to this favorite spot of ours. And many of them have come back time and time again.

I did some math on how much my wife and I spend at our Friday night spot per year and it adds up to around $2000 or more. We've been doing this for about 10 years. Before we met, my wife was coming here and bringing friends. I bet we have spent $25,000 or more so far at this one restaurant, just by visiting 4 times a month. And there is no end in sight.

We are not the only ones who make this restaurant apart of their regular routine. What if we are one of 100 couples, or one of 1000 couples with a similar routine? See how the dollars add up?

And not only do you need to count the dollars we spend when I sign for the check, there's also the new dollars that will be coming in as we are spreading the word about this restaurant and bringing in new customers to share this experience with us.

This is one more reason why marketing is so much more than just your advertising and why every customer is worth more than you can imagine.