I talk about existing clients a lot in my blogs as I think they are an under appreciated part of the business unit sometimes.
I believe business owners in general underestimate the value of their current clients, based on two factors.
They are already a client, we usually focus on new clients.
After they have made a first purchase they tend to be forgotten until they come back on their own.
It’s easy to get caught up in the chase for new clients, marketing campaigns, referrals and so on.
But have we ever stopped for a minute and had a good think about your current clients? Let’s do a quick breakdown around prospects and current clients, using two well known methods to increase your sales.
Email newsletters/marketing:
Your current clients: They know who you are so they won’t delete the email immediately. They have used at least one of your services, if it was a good experience they would probably be confident using additional services if there was a need.
New prospects: You are competing against every unknown email that comes through their inbox. Although they like a product that you may have, just like you they are probably too busy with things they recognise to stop and read.
Phone call regarding new product/service:
Your current clients: You get through to the decision maker who actually buys off you, they have done so previously and will at least give you five minutes to let you talk.
New prospect: You call, the gatekeeper answers. “What is this about” “they are in a meeting can I take a message”. Sometimes you will get through, they want you to send through some information…...refer to my first point about emails.
I’m not suggesting email marketing or cold calling is a bad way to increase revenue. I do both…..they work. What I am saying is that when you really look at your client base, are they aware of everything you offer?
It could be a better idea to increase your current client spend first, before you go down the potentially expensive road of marketing to new business. Your existing clients are the reason the lights are on, don’t ever forget that.
So have a think about how you could replicate the above in your business, this could be an excellent return on a small investment when done right.