Used furniture that smells good is a weak substitute for a sound relationship with your customer.

You should invest at least the same amount of time and money into maintaining customer relationships as you do maintaining your inventory.

By Roy Griffaw, Publisher, RTO Online and RTO Magazine. bio

Webster defines Relationship as "A particular type of connection existing between people related to or having dealings with each other."

The following story about the power of customer relationships was adapted from an RTOonline.com reader email.

"Ever wonder how that 'dirty storefront' guy makes a living? You know the one I mean; The one you turn your nose up at when you drive by. It's probably because he knows the name of his customers, their children, and their neighbors. He can recite from memory every piece of merchandise they ever rented. His customers know that he was there 5 years ago, and he'll be there 5 years from now and they will not be greeted by a different manager every 5 months. He survives because his customers know that a simple phone call will result in actual service being performed the same day. His customers know from experience that he says what he means and means what he says. Does he do this because it's fun? NOT. He does it because his survival depends on it. This is how he competes with you. This is how he takes your customers."

Relationships are built, not bought
Maximizing turn has become an art form. Our industry spends millions on refurbishment to gain a few points on turn. A good investment to be sure - but used furniture that smells good is a weak substitute for a sound relationship with your customer.

Relationship retention
Take a look at your advertising budget. Carve out a portion for "Relationship Retention". You should invest at least the same amount of time and money into maintaining customer relationships as you do maintaining your inventory.

Having a good relationship does not mean allowing collections to suffer or becoming friends with your customers, both of which will cost you money in the long run. It means simple things like knowing your customers name. It means coming out from behind the counter, even after a long hard day, to greet the customer with a smile and a handshake and asking about their family. It means sending them personal handwritten thank you notes for no reason.

There are very successful Rent to Own operators who do no advertising whatsoever. How can this be? What is it that sustains them? They leverage the relationship - the one thing that will improve a rent to own business the most and is absolutely free.

You already have the next big thing
Advertising is an important aspect of any business. But if you find yourself having to spend increasing amounts of time and money to gain new customers, perhaps it's time to start appreciating the ones you already have.

About the author
Roy Griffaw is the founder of RTOonline.com and publisher of RTO Magazine, the rent-to-own industry's leading online and print trade publications.

This article was originally published in 2003