Running a successful business has always been about getting more sales, more customers, more partners. But what some people don’t know is that these successful companies don’t just focus on selling, or advertising, or getting more partners. There’s a secret underneath all the commercials, all the product sales and all the deals…

Something is going on with these businesses. Why do they stay at the top? It’s not an over-zealous CEO. It’s not about really low rates. It’s not even always about the quality of the product.

What’s it really about?

It’s about three things: (1) knowing how to keep your customers, (2) making your customers want more from you and (3) your customers telling their friends about you. Sure, you can have a great leader, or rock-bottom rates, or a high-quality product. But if you just stick with that strategy, your customers are bound to “try out” something else.

So what can you do to keep your customers happy and forever loyal?

1. Welcome Your Customer Like a VIP

One of the most important moments in the relationship between a business and its customers is the instant they sign up for your product. Remember they are offering you their trust. They don’t know your company. You don’t know them. They will be asking themselves, “Will this be worth my time and money?” They will be full of skepticism.

So this is an opportune moment for you to give them the impression that you’re not just any other company who’s in it for the money. You want to create a relationship with them. You want to create a partnership.

You can welcome them with a personal email, or a phone call, or anything that makes them notice that you’re not an autoresponder. Nobody enjoys getting mail from those robots.

Make your first-time customer feel special. Derek Halpern of Social Triggers does this to perfection. When you sign up for email updates on his blog, he sends you a personal email asking the question: “What are you struggling with?” If you reply with something, anything, Derek will respond personally. He talks about what you’re struggling with, and if he has the answers on his blog, he provides specific links for those certain posts.

Imagine your reaction when you get a reply like that. I bet you’d be blown away. I bet you’d even start to look forward to his future posts.

2. Customer Satisfaction Is King

You can never go wrong with satisfying your customer. Never. Ever.

As a company, you need to do everything in your power to make your one customer happy. Provide quality products. Offer money-back guarantees. Offer discounts and bonus packages. Get them what they want before they even know they want it.

When a customer is dissatisfied with your service, you need to apologize for the inconvenience and promise that you and the company will be working to make sure it never happens again. And any promise you make can’t be empty. You will be surprised how loyal your customer will become if you back up your promise with action.

What your customers need is to know that someone is working on their problem. They don’t need an apologetic speech. They don’t need to have their problem fixed this very second. They just need a little hope: a ray of light at the end of the tunnel.

3. Offer Less, Give More

This is the hard part, but a sure-fire way to grab hold of your customers’ hearts. Whatever you offer to your customer – give more.