The most important element of increasing your profits is also the simplest. Once a customer has purchased from you, they should never be allowed to just languish in your files. It’s amazing how many professionals and consultants forget this simple fact and never contact their clients again. Statistics say that it is 18 times easier to sell an existing client than to find a new one. Translated, that means for every existing client that you sell a second time through one simple email contact, you would have to take 18 actions to find a new client.
Even if you have a business, where customers only purchase once, staying in touch is important. It will remind them of their experience with you (hopefully excellent) and trigger recommending you to friends and family who just happen to need the same product or service.
So, how do you stay in touch? Most Internet entrepreneurs have a newsletter or blog going that is disseminated to their client list after a client opts in. But even if you do not generate enough news for a regular newsletter, you certainly should send periodic announcements of additional services, service improvements, specials, discounts, personnel news, or whatever. You do not need opt-in permission because you already have a relationship with the recipient. As long as you offer a method for opting out, you have not broken any spam laws. The method can be as simple as saying “if you no longer wish to receive my announcements, hit REPLY and let me know.” When you receive an opt-out request, make absolutely sure that the customer record is deleted from your email database!
If you have just done business with someone, and you have received no feedback from your customer, it’s quite OK to send them an after-sale survey. If you keep it short and to the point, your customers will be pleased to comply and actually appreciate the fact that you want to know if they were satisfied. Leave room for general comments. You may be surprised to get some great testimonials. In most cases your customers will allow you to use them in your marketing materials as long as you ask permission. Testimonials are a great way to attract more clients, and more clients mean more profits!
Bruce Yamamoto is a business coach and mentor that assists serious entrepreneurs in building a profitable online business with multiple incomes streams. Bruce and his team have assisted hundreds of people in generating an executive level income or more in their first year. For more information and to contact Bruce, visit: http://shootfortheplanets.com
