Part I:	Fewer sales? Then turn up the volume!
Part II:	Cater to your biggest source of revenue: Current clients
Part III:	Marketing with a conscience
Part IV:	Email marketing: Your most efficient, cost-effective choice

Part II: Cater to your biggest source of revenue: Current clients

Here's the answer: Dance with the one that brung ya.

I was astonished recently when, during an email exchange, Harvard Business School Professor Earl Sasser told me this about his research into customer loyalty:

"As a customer's relationship with the company lengthens, profits rise. And not just a little," he wrote. "Companies can boost profits by almost 100% by retaining just 5% more of their customers."

Boost profits by 100% by retaining just 5% more of their customers? I wrote back to ask him if it was a typo. I was assured it was not.

Those numbers, even to someone familiar with customer loyalty issues, were quite eye-opening. But hey, the guy's a Harvard professor.

Why are current customers such a great target? For starters, you are not a stranger to them. They already know you and have already purchased and used your products and services. You have already started to develop the relationship with them and there is a certain level of trust that has been achieved. With this crowd, you're already halfway to another sale. And the opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell are incredible.

So how do you reach out to these people? Well, let's step back a bit. First of all, do you even know who they are? Do you have names, addresses, email addresses and other contact information that will allow you to keep your products and services top of mind with them? If not, get started collecting them—NOW. Don't let another sale pass through your cash register without at least attempting to collect this information.

Some clients—especially in the retail sector—simply place books near the cash register that encourage people to sign up for a newsletter. Others collect business cards and offer a monthly gift or freebie. Still others look to mall kiosks just to collect names. Perhaps the most effective method of collecting names is the simplest of all: ask them for it when they make a purchase.

Then, recognize that list for what it is: one of your most valuable assets.

Now that you know who they are, the opportunities for direct and email marketing will unfold before you. Use that path wisely.

If you want to learn more about how you can take advantage of your customer list to market your products and services, call us today at Adams Jette Marketing + Communications at 613.235.5445 or email us at info@adamsjette.com.

<< PART I | PART III >>

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