Your existing customer base is like money in the bank. All you've
got to do is create and implement the right plan to get it. Here it
is:
Recognize The Asset That Is Your Customer Base
Why have you stayed in business as long as you have? For two main
reasons. Because you're (A) reasonably good at getting customers...
and (B) reasonably good at keeping them. Unfortunately, most business
people spend a disproportionate amount of time getting customers over
keeping customers, which means they're better at (A) than (B).
Your customer base -- including both those who have recently purchased
and those who haven't -- represents a very considerable asset to you.
But first you've got to change your point of view; you've got to recognize
the value of this asset and determine to do what's necessary to extract
maximum value from it. Can you honestly say this is what you do?
Too many business owners don't give much thought at all to their
existing customers. Certainly, they don't have a plan for getting
additional business from them. Instead, they run a "catch as
catch can" operation, glad enough to get whatever business comes
in, but not sufficiently organized to see the value of their customer
base and mine it systematically.
Develop A Plan To Derive Maximum Profit From Your Existing Customer
Base
If you want to get maximum profit from your customers, you can't
just sit back and expect miracles to happen. You've got to plan.
Your plan's key elements involves answers to these questions:
what will you do while
your customer is purchasing?
what will you do as
soon as your customer purchases?
what will you do when
your customer has failed to purchase after 30 days?
what will you do when
your customer has failed to purchase after 60 days?
what will you do when
your customer has failed to purchase after 90 days?
what will you do before
you decide to drop your customer off your mailing list?
Let's examine these points.
1. Getting your customer to buy more while he's
in the process of purchasing.
This element is relevant if your customers either come in in person
to make their purchases or purchase by phone, or even by fax. Say
a customer calls in to order Product X. You should say, "Of course
we're happy to give you Product X, but I'd also like to share today's
specials with you <or a related offer that would make sense for
the customer given what he wants to buy.>" In other words,
your job is not just to be a robotic order-taker; it's to understand
that you are in business to solve problems and upsell customers. At
no time should you simply be taking orders; you should be maximizing
profit!
2 . Getting your customer to buy again IMMEDIATELY.
Unless you have only one product (in which case, that's the significant
problem you should deal with), make sure you do what's necessary to
sell additional product/service to the customer as soon as he's purchased
the first allotment.
In the case of a product, either hand additional client-centered
selling information to the customer as soon as he's purchased... or
put it into the packaging. In the case of a service, develop a letter
that goes out THE DAY the customer's job is finished, and which outlines
additional services you have available.
Whenever possible give your customer some kind of special deal, some
incentive that motivates him to use more of your product/service as
soon as possible. Always date these incentive offers; let customers
know they can get this special and how beneficial it is... but that
if they don't act promptly, they're going to lose out.
3. Getting The Customer To Buy After 30 Days
A month has elapsed and your customer hasn't bought. What then? Why,
you've got to be in touch, of course.
If your customers are local, FAX them a special offer after 30 days
if at all possible. Faxes communicate urgency and importance. You
want your offers to be so regarded. If you don't have a fax (shame
on you) or your customers don't have a fax, mail your offer.
If your customers are nationwide, send a postcard or flyer with your
special offer. THEN FOLLOW UP BY TELEPHONE.
A lot of lazy business owners won't take this trouble, reasoning
that if their customers want what they've got, it's up to them (the
customers) to take action. This, of course, is a perfectly witless
way to run a business.
It is never the customer's responsibility to take action, even though
the customer will be a primary beneficiary. It is always the marketer's
responsibility.
What a business owner should ask him/herself is this: if I make the
necessary telephone calls will I make money? This is the only question
that is worth asking.
Of course, it's a burden to make the calls. Of course, you may not
want to. Of course, you've got other things to do. But if you're making
money, that's the important thing; that, after all, along with providing
benefits to customers, is what business is all about. And when you
institute a systematic telephone follow-up program, you achieve both
objectives.
Note: if you've sold your customer something that doesn't need to
be followed up in thirty days, you need to use a customer assessment
questionnaire to find out what the customer needs that you can follow
up for after 30 days. Thus, develop a product or service questionnaire
that ascertains from your customers what they're interested in. This
questionnaire should be a part of EVERYTHING you send out because
it is your responsibility to find out what your customers want...
so you can sell it to them!
4. Getting The Customer To Buy After 60 Days
Reread Point #3 and do it all over again. Remember, the longer the
period when the customer doesn't buy, the worse it is for you. Thus,
make a real effort after 60 days to GET THE CUSTOMER TO BUY AGAIN
NOW! Think... what special can you offer that will induce immediate
action? Remember, you want the customer to buy again NOW! What razzle-dazzle
offer can you come up with that ensures maximum prompt response?
Getting The Customer
To Buy After 90 Days
Haven't gotten the customer to buy again yet? Then, you really must
work on an outstanding
offer
communicate it by an
unrelentingly client-centered marketing communication, and
(if at all possible)
get on the telephone to stimulate the order.
And if the customer still isn't buying: FIND OUT WHY. Maybe it's
a customer problem (no money, no interest). But maybe it's YOUR problem
(better offer from a competitor, better merchandise from a competitor,
etc.) Either way, you've got to know.
Before You Drop The
Customer Off Your Mailing List
Lots of companies make the big mistake of cleaning their lists, dropping
off old customers, without bothering to tell the customers they are
being dropped. This is stupid. What you need to do is this:
tell customers this
is their last contact unless they take action to acquire the benefits
you've got available
hit those benefits
hard, hard, hard
say how sorry you'll
be to lose them
urge them to take action
NOW
enclose a client-survey
questionnaire to elicit information on what the customer wants.
In short, make a real effort to retain customers. If they respond,
go back to the beginning of this report and do what's necessary to
upsell them. This is a case where everything old is new again and
must be treated accordingly. No response? Drop them without remorse.
You've done what you could!
Develop The Marketing Communications You Need
In the business of upselling customers and getting lapsed customers
to buy again, you're going to need, as you see, a lot of client-centered
marketing communications. These communications are composed of predictable
elements...
Offers. In getting
people to respond, you're going to need offers, lots of offers. Before
you write any marketing communication, brainstorm offers. Sit down
with any marketing personnel in your office (or do it yourself, if
you work alone) and come up not just with one, but with a couple of
dozen offers. Remember, a good offer is composed of 1) exceptional
value and 2) a deadline for action. Your offers must be composed of
both parts.
Client-centered
benefits. What your customers want to know is what they get from
you. Don't be coy. Brainstorm all the benefits of what you're offering.
Then prioritize these benefits, always leading with the strongest.
Client-centered
testimonials. Always tell your customers how well others are doing
because they're using your product/service. These testimonials should
focus on RESULTS, on what the satisfied customer got. How do you get
these testimonials? ASK FOR THEM! Keep asking customers, "What
kinds of results are you getting from <name of product/service>?"
Don't just sit around waiting for people to tell you they're happy;
lead them, counselor.
Open a separate file in your computer for each of these elements.
Title them "offers," "benefits," and "testimonials."
When you're ready to create your marketing communications, simply
draw the crucial raw material from these files.
Walk Through The Customer Upsell/Recapture Process From The Start
A thorough, well-organized customer upsell and recapture program
doesn't just happen. It's the result of a lot of deliberation and
careful planning. This includes walking through the entire process,
seeing how it works, whether you work alone (and are therefore entirely
responsible for marketing) or with others (whom you oversee).
Thus, monitor what happens when you are selling something to a customer.
Do you attempt to upsell? If not, why not? Don't just assume that
upselling is taking place. MAKE SURE IT IS.
Ditto, what happens when you're providing a product or service to
a customer? What materials will you use to ensure prompt repurchase
by the customer? Something to be inserted into the package? Something
to be printed on the box or bag? Have you considered each possible
way of bringing an offer to this customer? Who's responsible for undertaking
these things? How do you know they're being done properly?
Note: the larger the organization, the more people involved in the
marketing process, the more "spot checks" are necessary.
It's all too easy for personnel to stop upselling customers, to stop
making special offers, to not make follow-up phone calls, to not urge
them to complete client-survey questionnaires whereby you learn what
else the customer wants. Yes, it's all too easy for "marketers"
to be lazy and inefficient. Business owner: NOBODY in your organization
has the vested interest you do in making sure this is all done properly.
That's why you've got to oversee the entire customer upsell and recapture
process, not just today, but forever.
Start Today
I'm willing to bet a dollar that you'll spend a considerable portion
of your time today trying to get new customers. A lot more, I'll wager,
than you spend on upselling new customers and recapturing past buyers.
This, as you now know, is wrong.
By not following the steps in this report, you're costing your company
a very significant amount of money. Perhaps millions of dollars annually.
Shameful!
Unless this makes you happy (in which case you're a very strange
puppy, indeed), it's time -- RIGHT NOW -- to take the necessary action
to correct matters.
Start by walking through your current customer upsell and recapture
process. Do it with an open mind. Odds are, you'll be appalled by
what you discover, by the amount of sales and profit you're losing
EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Once you've recovered from the shock of this unfortunate discover,
sit yourself down at your desk or computer and vow that you're going
to do what's necessary -- RIGHT NOW -- to change matters, to do everything
you can to improve matters. But don't just vow silently, quietly.
Vow IN WRITING. Write yourself a contract. Say when you're going to
get started (today, right?), what you intend to do, and what specific
results you want to see by a given date. Then date this important
document and post it where you can see it every single day. And every
single day, make sure you're making the necessary progress to reach
your objective.
You see, it's all too easy in the normal course of business to concentrate
largely, even solely, on getting new customers, without understanding
that if you do what's necessary to upsell and recapture customers
your profit margins are going to significantly increase. I guarantee
it.
Grayling provides marketing advice and copy writing for those wanting
to succeed at business.
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