Loyal customers are, in general, your most valuable patrons. They provide sales and income at marginal marketing and retention costs, and at a fraction of the expenses entailed in acquiring new buyers. Loyal buyers, in many instances, also help you attract others for no additional outlays through word-of-mouth advertising. And in today's challenging economy, with many competitors for limited customer dollars, ensuring their loyalty is key to survival, and future prosperity. Customer relationship management (CRM) methods and solutions can aid you in keeping your most valuable customers and in doing so bring in others. Properly implemented, i.e. enabling you to spotlight on the top tier buyers that generate the most revenues while meeting the needs of the most of your market base, CRM can make your loyalty strategy successful.

Here are the top tips on using CRM to keep your customers provided by several leading expert firms.

ClickFox (www.clickfox.com)

Marco G. Pacelli -- Chief Executive Officer

* One Experience Does Not Fit All

The first tenet of customer loyalty is about serving customers according to their preferences. Different customer segments tend to have strong interaction preferences -- choosing, for instance, to speak to a live agent or to log on to their account via mobile browser to check account balance. Similarly, by analyzing customers' past interactions, you can tailor the customer experience as well as avoid potential points of frustration or annoyance, such as marketing products that they already own. The caveat: to truly know thy customer requires a holistic, cross-channel perspective. For example, one financial services provider found small business customers were much more likely to utilize self-service options whenever possible and only speak with a live agent when absolutely necessary.

* Treat New Customers With Kid Gloves

You can only make a first impression once. Start the relationship on a bang by exceeding their...