The smartest companies build and maintain a strong and lasting relationships with their customers. What do you do when a customer buys from you the first time? What do you do when you find out that a customer does not buy from you again? Your approach to issues relating to your customers will determine if you will be in business for a long time.

You are only in business to create and keep customers.

Take out a sheet of paper right now and provide honest answers to the following questions. What percentage of your company's sales is repeat business? What do you do to keep customers? How well do you know your customers? And how well do you maintain the contact with your customers in the midst of shifting market trends?

I am a loyal customer. I used to go to my barber shop because he made my hair cut an enjoyable experience. The barber did not only know me by name, his price was reasonable. He understood how exactly I wanted my hair cut without having to say a word. You might be saying it is difficult to do this for all clients. But what do you do to the customers that keep coming back to you? Do you make them comfortable? Those are the ones you have to target.

Keeping close to a customer is a continuous process and most companies have used different tools to track what customers want. Decide on the best tool for your business and implement it. I buy books online from Amazon.com and I like the way the company keeps track of my purchases and even offers suggestions for other books I might like. Amazon's system knows my taste better than the local bookshop at the mall. This singular act has increased my potential for repeat business with Amazon.

So, as an entrepreneur or business owner, do you know your customer? Do you think you have earned the respect and trust of your customers? Leave your comment below and share your experiences on what you have done to ensure repeated businesses. If you don't run a business, you are definitely a customer. Share your experience below on how a company has been able to win your respect and your pocket.