Grow Your Business By Getting Your Customers Buying From You More Often - 35 Ideas

35 Ideas to Spark Your Creativity:

There are 3 ways to grow any business. Just 3:

- Get more customers

- Get more from each sale

- Sell to each customer more frequently.

That's it - everything else boils down to some variation of these 3 activities.

Most owners and managers want to grow their business. Most of them concentrate exclusively on getting more new customers.

Odd really.

There is lots of marketing research that is pretty consistent in pointing out that it costs somewhere between six and twelve times as much to get a new customer as it does to sell to an existing customer.

And once you have a customer it is generally pretty straightforward to get them to buy from you more often.

What's that?

Your business is different. You sell a one-off product. There's no way to get customers to buy more often.

Maybe so.

But I don't think so.

Here are 35 ideas for you to stick in your brainstorming pot, stir for a while, and then see what comes out at the other end.

Customer focus

1. Actively market to your existing customers

2. Listen to your customers - deliver what they want

3. Keep Customers Informed

4. Start A newsletter

5. Superior Customer Service

6. Target Profitable Customers

7. Over deliver On your Promise

8. Priority hot line for most profitable

9. Active Customer Relationship Management

Business Model

10. Target a Specific Niche 11. Look for niches within niches

12. Use Service Contracts

13. Back-End Selling

14. Pre-Sell After First Sale

15. Joint venture marketing

Reward Customers

16. Establish A Frequent Buyers Club And Card

17. Find Out Everything You Can About Customer

18. Competitions

19. Previews

20. New Offers Every Week, Month

21. Personal letters

22. Reminder Schedule

23. Outgoing Calls

24. Private Unveilings

25. Master the Art Of Saying Thank You

26. Sell the Experience As Much As The Product

Promotions

27. Statement Stuffers

28. Bag stuffers

29. Discount vouchers

30. Bring A Friend Free

31. Surprise Offers

32. Appeal to the emotions

33. Make Your Customers Feel Guilty

34. Direct Mail

35. Target advertisements for existing customers

Now I hope you have found something in this list to get your creative juices flowing. But I regularly come across businesses that claim to have one shot products. Most recently I had a high class kitchen design and build company telling me that none of these things applied to them.

They build solid wood kitchen units, equipped them with the best possible kitchen equipment and expected the kitchen to last 20 years or more.

Now I don't know what the figures are like in the rest of the World but in the UK people move home, on average, every 4.7 years. Keep in touch. They just might buy from you again.

And what do you know about your customer. Top of the list is that they want to improve their homes and they will pay good money to get top service. They probably are willing to spend money to improve the rest of their home.

Could you do some joint venture marketing with another, non-competing, home improvement company?

Look around. You will find plenty of other companies that would love to be able to market directly to your customers.

Sure, you are not marketing your own service - but does that matter? If you work a deal with another home improvement company they are certain to pay a commission for each of your customers that buy from them.

Still not convinced?

Contact us - we like a challenge.

Keith Longmire is the owner of JKL Business Growth Solutions. JKL

specialises in bringing main stream business improvement and marketing solutions into the reach of smaller businesses. The Business Growth Solutions web site is designed as a source of information for all matters to do with Small Business Development

In The News:

pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Unique Marketing Ideas That Generate Cash!

First of all - keep in touch with your customers!... Read More

The Importance of a Marketing Plan

There aren't many things in life that you would get... Read More

How to Get the Right Clients and Avoid the Wrong Ones

If you are like most service professionals and small business... Read More

Practice Marketing: How to Answer What Do You Do? to Increase Prospects, Publicity and Profits

"What do you do?""I'm a CPA. What do you do?""I'm... Read More

Advertising Your Private Practice: Beware of the Problems-Part 1

One of the biggest mistakes coaches, counselors and other healing... Read More

How to Market and Protect Your New Ideas

The intellectual property transfer market is now estimated to be... Read More

Identify The Ideal Target Audience With These 5 Tips

Narrowing your focus to one primary group of people is... Read More

Powerhouse Marketing With Persuasive Postcards

The lowly postcard?it's more than just a "having fun, wish... Read More

Marketing Got You Stumped?

It's not unusual for entrepreneurs to find the whole idea... Read More

The Newest Marketing Course

Certainly the newest earth quaking event in Internet Marketing insider... Read More

Marketing to Hispanics/Latinos

A powerful consumer market with annual spending power exceeding $350... Read More

Produce More Sales from your Email Promotions Five Ways - Part 1

Do sales come from your ezine regularly? How many well-written... Read More

How To Use The Og In All Of Us To Make More Money

5000 B.C. -- somewhere near a cave in MontanaOg the... Read More

The Seven Vital Steps You Must Know To Ensure Direct Mail Success

1. Your Most Valuable AssetA mailing list of valued customers... Read More

How To Get Your Prospect To Take Action

There's really only one thing that separates Image advertising from... Read More

Fundraising: How To Avoid Three Common Mistakes

I'm a board member of a local nonprofit and we... Read More

Let Your Survey Write Your Business Plan

Most entrepreneurs first write their business plan and then develop... Read More

How To Get Business With Your Business Card?

So, you have a business card? And you have given... Read More

Good Marketing Pays for Itself

Most companies ask themselves this question: "How much will this... Read More

Five Tips for Trade Show Success on a Small Budget

No matter how small your marketing budget, your business can... Read More

Deceptive Marketing and Procrastination

Procrastination is every marketers worst nightmare.This applies on three fronts.Firstly... Read More

Integrity and Marketing - Finding the Right Balance

When marketing themselves to leads and prospects there are five... Read More

Why You Buy, Part Two

More of the findings of the recent studies in behavioral... Read More

Happy Hunting!

Before you ever get on the telephone, send a marketing... Read More

Everybody Loves Raymond....You Should Too!

Popular TV Series Provides a Powerful Marketing LessonSmall Business owners... Read More

People Pleasing Postcards

Why are more businesses turning to full-color postcards as a... Read More

Practical Advice to Generate Successful Campaigns Using Merged Lists

You could end up with poor results when designing a... Read More

Helping Your Prospects Overcome ?Buying Fears? By Using Testimonials

You DO use direct marketing for your small business? right?... Read More

How To Bond With Customers So That They Stay With You Longer

How many of your customers are loyal customers? More importantly... Read More

Marketing Strategy - Spell Out Your Unique Value

I attended a "Sales Focus" seminar a few years back... Read More

Marketing On The Cheap: Speak Out!

No matter what business you are in, you probably have... Read More

Print Marketing Campaign, Whats Important and Whats Not!

Every company searches to lure customers to their product. Unless... Read More

Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success?

What?!? Sabotage your own success? Who would do that? Well,... Read More