When working with business owners and reviewing their marketing plan one of the key things I look for is whether or not the have a database of past clients and customers. All too often this basic element is missing. In this day and age of easily accessible and low cost technology it is really surprising to see that 80% of businesses are not keeping customer records in a proper system. Indeed even if they are using computers in other areas of their business for example bookkeeping very few Irish business owners are maximising the use of technology to improve their marketing. These figures are very worrying. Huge amounts of money are being spent by the owners of these businesses. Attracting new prospects can be an expensive process so it is even more worrying that existing customers that have been so hard to come by in the first place are allowed to slip through the net. The cost of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 100% less than the cost of having to acquire a new one and convert them to customers. Current clients of your business have experienced your service before and know how to find your premises. You have built up an relationship and track record with them so it is a pity to waste it. So in my mind it is more important to first look after the customers you have already rather than spending huge amounts of money in trying to attract new clients. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense for an author to write a book and then sell it to one customer and then go back and write a second book. It would be much more lucrative to keep selling the first book and maximise its potential so that it provided an ongoing revenue stream far into the future. Now that you are aware of the importance of building your customer list you need to think about how you can implement such a system in your business. Each time you do a transaction with a customer you should be recording their details, ideally in electronic format. To keep costs low in the beginning you could even use a spreadsheet to do this. What would happen if 3 days after they purchased from you they were to receive a card thanking them for doing business with you? Do you think that would make you begin to stand out from the competition? Perhaps then 4 weeks after the purchase you could give them a call just to see if everything is working properly for them. This kind of non threatening way of keeping in contact keeps you at the front of your customers’ minds and will make them more likely to refer others to your business. Every month then you could send each past customer a newsletter perhaps or special offers that tie in with seasonal festivals such as St Patrick’s Day. Before too long you will have a steady supply of business and you should be able to reduce your spend on attracting new customers and just focus on the ones you have.
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When working with business owners and reviewing their marketing plan one of the key things I look for is whether or not the have a database of past clients and customers. All too often this basic element is missing.
About the author: Matt Eve is a writer and runs a marketing consultancy in Ireland.Read more of his articles at his irish marketing blog Feel free to grab a unique version of this article from the Unique Articles Submission Service
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