A Strategy for Doubling your Customer Base in 4 Weeks
Are you struggling to grow your business? Maybe you need to grow so you can take on an extra member of staff or perhaps you have got your eye on a new piece of kit but need to increase your sales before you can sign off on the order. This is something that many of the businesses that I work with face and so I thought I’d share the following strategy that will not only generate new leads for your business but also help you convert them into paying customers. The starting point is to understand who wants your products and services and then be able to connect with them. In order to do this you need an effective marketing strategy that promotes your business. After all if they don’t know about you they are not going to be able to purchase from you in the first place.
- Build a Loyalty Ladder to Create “Raving Fans”
- Loyal customers are your ideal customers. They will often refer others to you, they’re your cheerleaders and will shout from the roof tops how great you are and will tell others what you can do. This strategy encourages you to actively seek out these people and make them feel extra special. Send them flowers on their birthday, invite them on a golf day, offer them tickets to a rugby match or a concert.
- You do need to calculate the benefit your business will get based on the fan telling others about you who then convert into customers. This rewards type of programme also helps to encourage your other customers to become your super fans so that they can benefit from this special treatment too.
- Identify a Target Market for Direct Mail
- Direct mail campaigns work best when they’re used to target a defined and identified group. This could be by age, gender, income level, buying habits or where they are living.
- If you choose to buy data it is important that you do so from a reputable firm and ensure that it meets the rules concerning GDPR.
- If you have an email database of people who have previously opted in to receiving marketing then be sure to market to them. It’s worth tagging contacts as you add them to your list so you can make sure that they receive the most appropriate marketing information.
- Create A Referral Programme
- Referral rewards can be anything from discounts, gifts, invitations to special events, or exclusive offers. This way you are encouraging your existing customers to spread the word of mouth love for your business and get something in return.
- Weed Out Bad Clients and Cater to the Best
- Don’t be afraid to say goodbye to customers who don’t bring value to your business. Losing those customers who create extra work and problems for you, leaves you free to concentrate on better serving your more valuable customers.
- If you consider that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers you can easily see the benefit of going the extra mile for this group of clients.
- Create Strategic Business Alliances
- Partnering with other businesses who have a similar customer demographic but who are not direct competitors can be a good strategy for business growth. Customers who trust other businesses and have proven their loyalty will be inclined to follow their recommendations.
- Take the time to research your alliances to ensure that you both benefit. Good combinations include an accountancy firm partnering with a legal firm, an estate agent and mortgage broker, a fashion boutique and a beauty salon or jewellers.
- Invest in your PR and Marketing
- Whether in print or online it is important to ensure that you communicate your key messages. This could be through a press article to promote your new product launch, staff appointments etc.
- Social Media also plays a key part. Your potential customers will be checking you out on social media and via your website so it is important to ensure you have a good presence.
- Online advertising, whether through Facebook or Google can also be a cost effective way of generating new leads for your business.
- Train and Support Employees to Improve their Skills
- Investing in your employees helps to keep them feeling engaged and valued. Happy employees are great advocates for your business, they’re also prepared to take on additional responsibility and get involved with growing and developing your business.
- Whether you are a car dealership sending a team member to Germany for a new car launch, or a hairdresser sending your top stylist to an industry event to learn the tricks of the trade, investing in your staff not only makes them feel valued, they will often have the skills to bring in even better business for you.
- Improve the Conversion Rate for Leads and Contacts
- Once you have a lead, it is important to keep them warm. Do this by getting to know them, give them something that adds value or solves a problem; this way when they are ready to buy you are at the front of their mind. If your current conversion rate is 20% for every 100 contacts or leads, you can easily improve that to 40 new customers a month. Boosting conversions to 30% represents a 50% increase. Convert 40% instead of 20%, and your customer base has effectively doubled without doing any extra marketing or advertising.
- Convert a Single Customer into Multiple Customers
- Cross selling to your existing customers is not only lucrative it’s also far less expensive than cold calling and can often result in increased profits with little effort.
- So think about what services or products you currently offer and who buys what and then tell your customers about your additional services that might be of interest to them.
- Go Online and Drive Traffic to your Bricks and Mortar Store
- Creating a website that offers everything online that you do instore means that your customers can buy from you at any time of day and where ever they are in the world.
- You might like to reward people who sign up to your mailing list by offering them a reward (something that does not cost you much, not a discount).
- Increase Visible Exposure
- Think carefully about your branding and how you can use this to increase the visibility of your business. Branded carrier bags, pens, note books, vehicle liveries are all great ways to promote your brand and get more people to see it.
