One of your best, and most overlooked, sources for additional business is your current customers.
Everyone has heard the phrase it is cheaper to sell to your current customers than it is to acquire new ones, but are you doing everything you can to be in front of your current customers? Are you utilizing direct mail pieces, social media, newsletters and email marketing to stay in touch with them? If not, you are missing out on a huge source of revenue.
Your current customers already know who you are and should love doing business with you if you are giving them exceptional customer service at your place of business (more on this in a future post). You just need to remind them that you exist, or you can offer them an exclusive sale/deal only for current customers.
One of the fastest ways to sell excesses inventory is to offer a special, after hours event to your current customers. Make it exclusive. Send out invitations. Actually have great deals/sales on the merchandise your are trying to sell. Your customers will also buy items that are not on sale too.
Action steps:
- Have a business Facebook page and a Twitter account at the minimum and tell all your customers to like your page or follow you. Post regularly (once or twice a week is great).
- Get a Customer Relationship Management software/database. My personal favorites are HighRiseHQ.com (free) or SalesForce.com.
- Collect your customer’s email addresses. Ask them for it. Have a sign up book by your register. Have a space for email addresses on your contracts. Add a link on your website for people to join your emailing list. Just make sure you ask for permission and let them know that you will emailing them your newsletters and specials. No one like spam.
- Use an email marketing company to send your newsletters and offers. My personal favorites are MailChimp.com (free) and ConstantContact.com. Both contain templates for you to use to create your newsletters, offer all sorts of great tracking tools and have opt-out options.