One of the best ways to increase your sales and one that won’t cost you a lot or take a huge amount of time is by selling more to your existing customers. This can be a lengthy process, and expensive to win over new customers between advertising, sales calls, and approvals. With existing customers the process can be much quicker, smoother, and less costly.
Existing customers already know you and what you can do. Your challenge is to learn about additional opportunities within your company, and go after them.
If the cost of a sale for an existing customer is so much lower than for a new customer, why don’t small companies go after their existing customers more aggressively?
You should take care of existing customers as well as possible, so that they never leave you.
It’s been said before that one unsatisfied customer will go out and tell 10-20 of their friends and family about their unsatisfactory experience, but the opposite doesn’t seem to occur. Your customers, vendors, suppliers and associates might think you walk on water, but they won’t tell everyone else how great you are unless you show them how and give them an actual reason to do it.
There are many ways to get your customers to never leave.
1. Hold a contest for best Testimonials.
What is a testimonial? It’s a statement, usually written by your customer, saying nice things about some aspect of your business, you, your employees or your products and services. If you want to use the testimonials in marketing efforts, you need to get a written release from your customers who wrote the testimonials, giving your business the right to use the testimonial in marketing.
There are many ways to get testimonials from your customers. You can actually hold contests for best testimonials. Request letters of endorsements from your customers, vendors, suppliers, and any associates you have. Use those to promote your products and services. When you use testimonials to add credibility to what you do, you’re letting your customers do the marketing for your business.
2. Stay in touch with existing customers.
Stay in touch with existing customers to learn their ongoing needs. Inquire into their challenges to discover needs they have that you can fulfill. It may be that someone in another department has a problem that one of your company’s products or services can solve. It is only by being in touch with customers that you learn about such opportunities.
Try to find up-selling opportunities. Not only more of the same, but larger orders and new features. A satisfied customer is a great candidate for expanded sales. The customer has respect for your capabilities and ability to deliver. The customer will listen to your pitch and likely tell you about possible obstacles.
3. Help solve their problem.
They will probably tell you about their limited budgets or opposition from another department. They might slip you some information about the existence of a competitor. You are then in a position where you can help solve the problem. Perhaps by offering a quantity discount or throwing in some additional service that will convince others in your company that you should provide more of your products or services.
Erny Setyawati is Publisher/Editor of Bali Global Market Ezine who has experiences in Business online and marketing online solutions. To know more about her ezine, go to: http://www.baliglobalmarket.com.
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