Leverage Your Database Of Customers And Prospects
The database is one of my favourite leverage points in a business. For a couple of reasons. First off, it is something that keeps growing with each new contact and sale. Second, you can leverage this asset over and over again. It is not just a one-time deal. Third, there are a number of different things you can do here.
Ok, let’s start at the beginning. You do have a database, don’t you? Believe it or not, this is one of the biggest hidden marketing assets that we find with clients! They either don’t collect contact information of buyers or prospects and if they do, they don’t do anything with it. People, people, people, if you have a list of clients who have bought from you before – trusted you with their hard-earned money and you made that a happy experience. Don’t you think they would buy from you again? It only makes sense. You see, basically there are only 3 ways to increase your business. You can get more clients, sell more often and increase the size of the transaction. That is it. And it is cheaper to sell more often to someone (repeat sales) than it is to get more clients.
So, what can you do with your database?
Well, first off, let’s do a reactivation of lost customers. Remind them that you are here, ask them to do business with you again. Make them a special offer that gets them excited. Send them an email or a letter directed straight to them that let’s them know you are thinking of them and would appreciate their business (people like to be appreciated).
You could set up a follow up program. Sure, start with the customer reactivation but then continue to follow through and send them relevant information and/or offers. This can also be done with brand new contact and customers which is why I like to distinguish it from the customer reactivation concept. Someone comes in your door and purchases, plug them in to your follow up program. Have you got a monthly newsletter you are sending out? Are there tips and ideas you can offer them that will help them with (or to use) their purchase? Someone comes in your door but does not purchase, are you following up with them? Are they being exposed to you on a regular basis?
Oh, that is a good one. The unconverted lead. Someone who showed interest in your product, service or offer but did not purchase. Did you get their contact info? Are you following up with them? Or did you just let that opportunity turn around and walk out your door for good? How can you get their information? Well, think a little and use your imagination. You could offer them a “free subscription” to your monthly newsletter. Ha, what an idea! Just ask them for their information. You could set up some kind of a draw for a free something or a discount on your service or product. Offer them a coupon in exchange for their information. There are a number of ways you can get this information from prospects.
Ok, back to the list of buyers. Can you set up a referral program? Can you recommend other, complimentary products – either that you sell yourself or from another business? Is your product or service consumable? Will they need more in a month, two months? Be in front of them when they need it again.
I mentioned about a referral program. The idea here is that, no, better yet, let’s just look at an example… Let’s say for instance you have a moving company and offer a moving service. You may be the first point of contact when a family moves to a new city. You know when someone is moving, that means they will need a few things, both before and after that move. They likely need the services of various trade workers – plumber for the new sink, painter to redo the bedroom, new carpet in the den, etc. They may even need to know where to eat out for the first few days in your town and where to shop. So that puts your business in a great position to be able to offer referrals to a host of other services. The trick here is to think of what other services or products someone might need if they just bought yours. Partner up with other businesses and offer to promote them for a fee or at the very least in exchange for them promoting you. It is a win-win for everyone!
Back to ideas for using your database, have you just released a new version of whatever your clients bought last time? Is there an advanced version that you can upsell them to later on? Have you just released a new product all together that they could make use of?
This all comes back to the idea that if you have a database of prospects and clients, you are in a great position to generate repeat business. Create a system and implement some strategies to make use of your database. Once you set it up, you can make it almost automatic. Ideally, you would integrate some of this with your website and follow up with a simple email follow up system for maximum returns.
Leveraging Your Transaction
We previously looked at pricing as a leverage point in your business and the possibility of adjusting your pricing to acheive your goals. Today we are going to look at the transaction itself. How can we take the action of doing business, closing the deal, making the sale and turn it into a leverage point?Well, at the point of the transaction, there are a few options. First, let’s look at a transaction that takes place online. If you are selling online, you can offer your visitor what is called an “upsell”. That is when they go to check out and you make them a special offer that they have to take right then. This ties in a bit with your pricing because if you have different service levels, this is one way to push people into the next level. Once the transaction is complete, you bring the customer to a “thank you” page. This is the point wehre they can download the product (if it is digital) or at the very least, you can thank them for their purchase and confirm what happens next (they enter more information, you are sending out their product, one of your agents will call them, etc.). It can also be a great time to offer people some other service or product that you sell. In fact, you could also them a related product or service that someone else sells. I’ll do an article later on Joint Ventures.
The point of transaction can also be used to invigte people to join a continuity program you may have. Could be a paid monthly newsletter, could be automatic shipments of consumable products, could be an ongoing support program. Whatever fits your offer.
OK, so this all sounds fine and dandy online, but your business may not be online and so what can you do. Well, first off, I am going to encourage you to explore if there is a way you can use the internet for your business. You may be able to integrate and automate some of these ideas into your daily business. But the point of this article is not to sell you an online setup, the point is to leverage the transaction to your benefit. No problem. First off, you could still collect email addresses of customers and send them an email. When was the last time you went to a physical store and made a purchase and then came home to a thank you email? I can’t think of one time. It would be kind of cool though. This will also open you up to being able to offer other products or services.
When a person “checks out” or completes a transaction, are you inserting anything into their package? Some kind of flyer or promo peice. Maybe you have a sale coming up you can tell them about. Or a special event. You can give them a coupon which they can use on their next purchase. This helps create repeat business and gives them a happy feeling as they leave.
You can still offer an upsell at point of sale. Think of “would you like fries with that?”. Is there a different version or accessories or something else you can offer at time of sale that will help increase your revenue?
The point of sale can still be used to offer some kind of forced continuity or warranty program. I am thinking of a recent purchase I made at Future Shop and they would try to sell me an extended warranty. I bet they make more money selling the warranty than they make on some of the products. But that is their business model. Low front end pricing and then an upsell. Can you incorporate that into your own business?
The main thing to note is that once a person makes a transaction with you, you want to make this a very pleasant and happy experience. They are in a buying mood and just trusted you with their money. This puts you in a good position to earn that trust again – possibly right away. Review your transaction process and see if you can leverage it for more profit.
