Getting new customers doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, winning new customers can be the opposite…low-cost and high return! I want to share with you 3 low-cost marketing strategies that will help you win new customers that you can implement immediately.
Reactivate Past Customers
First, re-activate past customers. Have you been paying attention to your old customers? For most of us, out-of-sight means out-of-mind. We forget about past customers who we haven’t seen for a while. Make a list of old customers that you have not seen in 90 days, 6 months, or 12 months.
Think about a strategy and/or a script for reaching out to these old friends and re-engaging them. Brainstorm – what can you do to let them know you miss them, you appreciate them, and you want to serve them again? They trusted you once. Unless you really messed up, they will easily trust you again. And of course, if you really messed up, you need to reach out to them and work on making things right!
Optimize Your Referral Sources
Second, formalize and optimize your best referral sources. Think about who really sends you new business. Make a list of these valued friends and think through a plan to maintain contact, to express appreciation, and to remind them of how they can help you. In addiction, always look for ways that you can help them – send them referrals, provided an unexpected service, or simply send them a small gift of appreciation.
Create a formal process for doing this on a monthly or quarterly basis – whatever makes the most sense to you! Most business owners I know way under-utilize their referral sources. These are vitally important people to your business, and their leads are typically the best at the lowest possible cost. Have a system to take care of these special people and leverage that relationship for more opportunities.
Identify Your Informal Sales Partners
Finally, identify your informal sales partners. These are simply people who benefit when you grow. These may be vendors, people you refer business to, your banker, your CPA, suppliers, etc. Anyone who benefits when you grow can be an informal sales partner.
Communicate with them. Let them know you appreciate how they help you grow your business, and then let them know how they can help you grow more!
All three of these strategies are relationship strategies. Your relationships must be genuine and authentic. Build and nurture these relationships, don’t just use people. Be sure you are giving back to them and investing in them. But be intentional as you leverage these opportunities.
As a Houston business coach it is my privilege to serve business owners in helping them develop and implement effective marketing strategies. If you are an owner in the Sugar Land, Katy TX, or Houston area, contact us for a complimentary marketing strategy session.
Glenn, Getting our clients to give us referrals has always been a challenge. They seem to love us. They just don’t seem to respond well to different things we’ve tried. We have had better results from a straight-up “ask” than from any sort of “cash or prize for referral” program.
Do you have a high-level outline of a good referral system you can share?