So far we have covered two aspects of selling more to your customers which is through product creation (Part One) or the clever use of upsell and downsell, even to the point whereby a product is offered free of charge with your customer paying the shipping fees (Part Two).
This final part looks at the clever use of your data base and how this can be used for multiple sales across a broad range of product lines, even when your business does not sell those products.
Whenever your data base is reaching saturation point, you must find ways to continue to feed your customers with great information, updates on existing products, clever uses of the products they have purchased, to remain fully engaged with them. A data base is a great tool. It’s the golden nugget in your business if it is accurate and there is good engagement. Whilst your main marketing effort may be focused on customer attraction, it is critical that you remember your existing customers, otherwise they will wander off and engage with another business, perhaps your competitor.
Think carefully how you divide your marketing budget to ensure existing customers are cared for (note the word here).
No matter what business you are in, please continue to market to your existing customers and solicit feedback in any way you can. It’s not easy, but the more ways you find to get response from them, the better. This communication keeps the relationship alive. This helps to ensure your customer continues to trust you and that you have their best interests in mind at all times. Maintaining this attitude of caring works and opens doors for you to make money, which ordinarily may have been closed.
The million pound idea that keeps on working…
This is a bold heading and I believe it has merit as you will discover. Whenever you have a strong business/customer relationship, there is massive potential for you to make huge sums of money even when your customer no longer buys from you because they have the products you sell. Maintaining this relationship gives you time to:
- Develop new products over a given period of time
- Upgrade existing product lines that make them more attractive and are worth the upgrade.
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The good news about your data base is that every one of your customers has something in common. They are loosely connected by the products they purchase and how they use those products. This should be of particular interest to you as it’s a gauge regarding other products they may be interested in, even if you don’t sell them.
OK, here’s the BIG reveal. Whenever you are in a situation like this, the simple solution is to joint venture with other businesses, who provide products that you don’t sell BUT, that compliment your product line and/or be a great fit for your customers.
Your role now is to introduce these new suppliers to your customers and receive payment for every sale made from your customer, for the life of that customer. This allows you to make more money without having the cost of production or delivery, so this is pure bottom line profit. I introduced this at a seminar I was running for a firm of accountants. A very excited gentleman came to see me after the seminar to thank me for the idea and told me that I had immediately put £60,000 onto his bottom line from the very first mail he would send. At the time, I was so busy answering questions and conscious of the queue of business owners wishing to see me that I couldn’t spend more time to explore this further. However, I was delighted that the idea was so well received and that this business owner immediately saw how it would work for him.
By now you may be having concerns how to make this work for you whilst ensuring you do not break data protection rules. The answer is simple.
First of all you need to find companies that supply goods and/or services that would be of particular interest to your customers. Contact these companies and ask if they are interested in a joint venture where they supply the goods and you supply warm leads from your data base. You must ensure you work out the details of the deal but generally you are looking for a percentage of the sale generated from your marketing, and thereafter a smaller percentage of each purchase this customer makes. This then provides you with an ongoing revenue stream.
When you have a deal in place, your JV partner creates the marketing which is presented to you. You need to add an endorsement and send to your data base. If sent by mail, then add the address label to the envelope which is already pre-paid (your JV partner pays for the marketing cost). This way, you have not released any information that would break data protection laws.
The fantastic opportunity here is that this idea is repeatable over the year(s) with different suppliers, and you continue to reap the rewards of your efforts in looking after your customers. Whilst I haven’t explained the detail of the mechanics here, I’m sure you can see the massive opportunity that awaits you with repeatable revenue streams opening frequently.
Summary
This series of articles was specifically written to provide you with tried and tested ideas that can solve your current business headaches and provide huge profit opportunities if managed and actioned well. I recommend that you consider seeking outside assistance to help you achieve your goals as it’s impossible to know all the answers. Sometimes, it makes more sense to work with an experienced professional who understands the pitfalls, and ensures you establish the right connections and framework to profit in the future.
With Brexit moving forwards, there isn’t a better time to be working on your business to ensure trading relations remain strong and support planning is in underway prior to the final plug being pulled. Please take the time to plan well, be detailed in your approach and follow through with your plan quickly. Good luck.
