Hi ,

Bill and I have used the same small company to service our hot tub weekly for the three years we've lived in this home - and the same company serviced it for the people who owned this home before us, too.

But over the past year we noticed two things:

• Our hot tub didn't look well cared for
• The time spent by the service tech on our hot tub was only a few minutes (because we have a field camera set out to catch bird pictures we actually saw that week after week he was spending less than 90 seconds in our lanai!)

Fast forward to today. Our hot tub was original to the house and we knew that at some point we would have to have it torn out and redone, and this spring we reached that point. So we called the service company we'd been using for the last 3 years and asked for a recommendation for a pool company. Two weeks later we had not received a return call or email.

Then, we called to say that they should not come to service the pool since the renovation was starting and would take about a month. They didn't acknowledge the call at all (although they quit showing up). 5 weeks later no one has called us to ask when they should start coming back to service the new pool, either. So yesterday Bill and I hired a new pool maintenance company and handed them a check for the next 6 months.

The lesson for us as business owners is that it's easy to lose an existing customer if you start taking her for granted. The second lesson is that it's a good idea to check in with a long-term customer and make sure she is still seeing value from her business relationship with you.

The best way to do this is to talk face-to-face over Zoom or on a call. The second best way is to send a questionnaire and ask for her response.

If our former pool maintenance company had read the signals, they would have known that we were needing attention. The pool was starting to stain a copper color on the grout - a sure sign of unbalanced chemicals, which is their job to maintain. That was one sign - there were others.

Treasure the customers you have and see how you might need to change to meet their emerging needs, too. Customer loyalty is a strong sign of a strong business - you want to foster that!

Before I sign off let me remind you about the Spring Business Boost Giveaway hosted by my colleague Ellen Finkelstein. (It's free, and that link is my affiliate link.) You'll find about a dozen resources in there, including my own 18 point business checklist.

Other news you can use:

• The one-time payment for the rest of life deal is still on over at GrooveFunnels (that's my aff link). I've been playing with it, got frustrated for a while, but am starting to see the true "all-in-one" potential. I don't recommend you purchase it right out of the gate - you can get a free account (forever, not time limited) so you may as well do that and then take time to try it out.

If you are spring breaking this week enjoy every minute of it. And don't forget to check out the Spring Boost Giveaway!

To your sweet success,

Sue Painter