Well done, you! You’ve bootstrapped your business from out of nowhere. You took the seed of an idea and grew it into a mighty oak of enterprise. What was once simply a spark of inspiration has become a thriving business. You may well, look around some days at the thriving hub of commerce your business has become and wonder how you got here.

Sure, a huge part of it has been the raw power of your will and vision. A lot of it has been your ability to identify the areas of spending that facilitate growth while keeping wasteful spending down. Of course, your employees have also helped a great deal.

You’ve recruited the exact right combination of skills and personalities to make your business a juggernaut in your field. Your employees contribute ideas and strategies that you’d never have come up with on your own and they make your place a much more pleasant place to come to every morning.

Nonetheless, as important as these facets are, they amount to nothing without the clients who keep a steady stream of revenue coming into your business. The loyalty of your key clients is what enables your business to grow from strength to strength. You don’t want to lose them, so here are some effective strategies to help you keep them…

Give them something back

You rely on the capital your key clients bring to your business, so any expenditure in keeping that revenue coming in is worth the capital investment, even if you’re running a very fiscally tight ship. Giving something back to a top client is one of the most effective ways to engender loyalty and enhance your reputation as a business that truly values its clients.

You likely already know how effective discounts and promotions can be for customer retention, but your top tier clients deserve a little something extra. From Wimbledon hospitality tickets to gift baskets, there are literally hundreds of ways to give something back to a top client. Your relationship with these clients is important and worthy of investment.

Keep it personal

Social media posts and mass email shoots may be sufficient for infrequent or lapsed clients, but when you’re dealing with a regular anchor client this level of impersonal communication may be jarring or even insulting for potentially sensitive clients.

While they should absolutely receive regular communication alerting them to special promotions etc. your communication with them should always have the personal touch. This does not necessarily mean that you should always call or email them yourself, but their point of contact should be a trusted senior employee whom you trust.

Use your CRM solution to your advantage

You likely have a Customer Relationship Management tool at your disposal, but using it effectively is key to effective client retention. 68% of customers leave a business because they believe that it no longer cares about them, and your CRM can help to prove them wrong.

Use it to record the minutiae of information that you may not recall off the top of your head but will make a big impression when you next make contact. While previous purchases and packages are important you should also record key information like their spouse’s name, children’s names and any favourite activities or hobbies.

The more you can demonstrate your interest in a client beyond their relationship with your business, the more likely they are to feel valued.