As a successful business owner going into the New Year, one of your many goals should be to grow existing customer relationships and increase loyalty to your brand and company. There have been countless business books and articles written examining how much higher the costs are in obtaining a new customer versus building a relationship and "up-selling" an existing customer. People buy from businesses they like, and it is a huge investment of both time and money in order to get to the point where you can call one of your customers "loyal." To keep them in that bracket, you must continue to provide excellent service and/or products, while offering them value beyond that which any of your competitors offer.

One under-used, often misunderstood secret to help you maintain customer relationships is implementing a subscription service or recurring billing cycle. Hearing the word "subscription" might immediately conjure up images of magazine and newspaper services, but with a little creativity in respect to your industry, developing a service plan around monthly billing habits can help you keep your customers and stabilize your monthly income.

Something to keep in mind in regards to a subscription service is that once someone is signed up, they have to go through the effort to unsubscribe, which many folks postpone or forget about if they're ultimately satisfied with what they're getting. This means that you're making money on subscribers even if they're not utilizing your services. How can you implement this kind of idea in your business? Here are some ideas to get you started.

Salons & Spas: Do you have a lot of customers coming in at regular intervals for color touch-ups or trims? If you already realize the importance of getting your client to book their next appointment in advance, setting up a subscription service isn't that different from what you've already been doing. In order to get customers set up on a recurring billing cycle, you'll want to offer them an incentive to do so. Think about offering a percentage-off promotion to get them on board. For example, "Our VIP clientele receive exclusive discount packages on hair care, priority appointment time slots and are invited to attend our semi-annual salon products sale." Doesn't that sound like something you'd like to get in on and be a part of? Offer subscribers 10% off hair services, set up events for them to attend and make them feel special in whatever ways you can. In the end, going that extra mile for your clients will help you see consistent returns at the end of every month.

Auto Repair & Maintenance: Vehicles require periodic maintenance. There's no getting around it. If you want your car to take you places, you have to take care of it; frequently. People need their oil changed, their tires rotated and balanced, their transmission fluid flushed, and their air filters changed. The list goes on and on. If you'd like to keep your customers coming back to your business and not shop around, try to sell them on your maintenance subscription service. For a small monthly fee, your customers can stop worrying about major car repairs since they've been budgeting for it all along. To peak their interest and get your customers signed up, offer special promotions and exclusive appointment times just like the salon example, only tailor them to your industry. Have value-added services for subscribers, like free oil changes every six months, free car washes and free maintenance inspections whenever your subscribers visit. Give them useful services that don't cost your business much but create immense customer loyalty and are viewed as desirable by your customers.

With subscriptions, you sometimes play a game of balance, trying to determine if you're giving too much in return for a subscription payment. Each business needs to find their own perfect balance between what they choose to bill each month versus what they can offer in return. In the end, your business is almost guaranteed an increase in steady monthly profit and you'll retain your most ideal, valuable customers who are more satisfied with your business than ever before.

Subscriptions are both convenient for your customers as well as a lucrative business tool for your business. They're also very simple to set up. All you have to do is contact your merchant services provider and ask them to set you up to manage these kinds of payments. Most reputable MSPs (merchant service providers) will easily be able to adjust your account to accept recurring, subscription-based payments.