Did you know... I drive a BMW.
In fact, I think I’m on my sixth or seventh BMW by now…
But the thing that has kept me a loyal BMW owner is - my car dealership makes it very convenient for me to stay with them.
First of all, instead of sending me all the material for the dealership, the sales, the market and the technical stuff about the car… all the stuff I’m not really interested in…
What they do is, the moment someone becomes a new BMW owner, they start sending them a “BMW lifestyle" magazine. Which is a really clever thing to do. Because it’s all about communicating with customers in their new role as a BMW owner.
But that’s not all. What really makes me stay with them is the absolute hassle-free car-upgrading experience…
Listen to this: A few months before my lease is about to end, my guy at the dealership starts texting me. He keeps sending me pictures of new BMW models saying, “I could get you any of these. Tell me which one you like…”
And then, the moment I reply, “Yep, I’ll take that one,” he comes out, brings the car to my house, takes my old one back... and that’s it.
My total involvement in the transaction is the 10 minutes he's there in my house when I have to sign some prefilled paperwork. And maybe have to listen to a little bit of instruction on the new features. Nothing more.
In other words, my entire car-buying routine has become picking a model from a picture and having it delivered to my house. My car dealer makes it so convenient for me to buy and upgrade my car, that I’ve been their customers for years and years.
I have no reason to switch. And I don’t want to switch.
But this kind of convenience could be transplanted to any kind of market. Even the market you’re in…
Just think about what kind of “Return on Relationship” you could get when, instead of focusing on the front-end and the three or four percent one-time commissions (if you’re working for commissions)… you start thinking about the longevity of it. And how to get someone as your customer for the next 10 or more years?
Just imagine how much more would that customer be valuable to you.
And the best part?
In a world where everyone’s chasing only the front-end sale, shifting the focus on the longevity of a relationship is not that difficult to do. But the profit of doing it is massive.