Consider the following …

• The average company spends 10 times more money marketing to new customers than it does marketing to existing customers.

• On average, it takes more than twice as many sales calls to sell a new customer on a new idea than it does to sell an existing customer on a new idea.

• The average customer will sooner switch suppliers for better service than for a better quality product or a cheaper price.

• It costs as much as 20 times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing customer happy.

Some companies treat their prospects better than they treat their existing customers. These suppliers get complacent once they acquire the business; they rest on their laurels. They take the customer and the business for granted. They go from order making to order taking. They expect the customer to drive the sale.

Selling is relationship management. Ted Levitt from Harvard wrote: “The purpose of a business is to get and keep customers. The sale merely consummates the courtship. How good the marriage is depends on how well the relationship is managed by the seller.” This is another way of asking, “Are you still sending flowers after the honeymoon?”

Existing customers are gold. Treat them as assets. Manage your customer relationships as you would your investment portfolio. Treat your customers as prospects, because they are—for the competition. Your best customers are your competitors' best prospects.

So, what's the best way to treat customers as prospects? Ask the questions that a tough competitor might ask in pursuing their business. Remember, the best defense is a great offense:

• What can we do to make your life better?

• What can we do to make it easier for you to order from us?

• If you were to go into our business, what would you offer customers like yourself that no one else offers?

• Hindsight is 20/20. Knowing what you know now, how would you change or improve what we are currently doing to satisfy your needs?

• What are some of the things that you perceive as getting in the way of your receiving the kind of value-added service you desire?

• If we were able to make those changes, what would that mean to your business?

• What do you need from us to help your company get to the next level?

• What can we do to help you compete better in your industry?

• How can we bring more value to you than any other competitor is doing?

Questions put the spotlight on the customer—exactly where it needs to be. These questions will help you focus on potential problem areas and nip them in the bud, while providing proactive value-added service.

Remember, the best part of being proactive with customer service is never having to say you're sorry for failing to perform.