Customers or Clients mean everything to your business or professional practice.

The degree of success you enjoy in business is directly related to your ability to continually attract new customers and to maximize repeat business from your existing customers.

It would be easy to sit back and serve only existing customers. But this is the real world.

Every business has only a finite number of customers it can reasonably expect to serve. In other words, you wouldn’t grow.

Whether you have 10 or 1,000 customers, in order to cultivate the maximum value from your greatest asset, you need to market to these customers again and again.

The best strategy is to continue efforts to attract first-time buyers…and to constantly stimulate sales from those who have purchased before.

Marketing is not just about finding new customers, but keeping those you’ve already won over and encouraging them to buy from you repeatedly, for years. That’s where the real profits can be harvested.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

According to world-famous marketer and colleague Jay Abraham, there are only 3 ways to grow any business:

1. Increase the number of customers or clients…

2. Increase the unit value of each purchase transaction…

3. Increase the number of purchases each customer makes…

The easiest and least-costly sale you’ll ever make is to an existing customer.

These folks have already trusted you to deliver a product or service. You don’t have to sell them again on the merits of doing business with you, instead of your competitor down the street.

Existing customers are high-probability prospects for your next related product or service. Trust has already been established.

When customers are satisfied with their purchases, they’re more likely to buy again and with much less scrutiny than the first time around.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

To capitalize on the true value of your customer list, you need to be aware of product life cycles, individual buying frequency patterns and the value of typical purchases.

To fully illustrate the value of your customer list, let’s look at an example:

Let’s suppose that an average single purchase is $100. If that’s all “customer A” ever spends with you, the actual value of “customer A”, in terms of revenue, is just that — $100.

Now, lets say that this $100 dollar purchase is a consumable product and it lasts about a year’s time.

Therefore, your customer needs to replace this product every year, in order to continually experience the same kind of benefit. If this customer purchases from you regularly over a period of say, ten years, that customer is now worth $1000… or ten times as much as the single-item buyer!

Taking this one step further…since customer A is very satisfied with her purchases, she tells 3 of her friends about your superb products and outstanding service.

As a result, these 3 friends also become 10-year customers. Now your original $100 dollar customer is actually worth $4,000… over the same ten-year period!

If those 3 newly acquired customers also referred others, the cash- generation picture gets even brighter. And it all started with a single, $100 purchase.

This is how a fitness club can offer 30 days of complete services for $10, or how book clubs promise “5 books for just $5”.

They don’t make any money on the first transaction. In fact, they often lose money on the front end. But they also know the value of a customer who purchases repeatedly is well worth the comparatively small up-front costs.

These companies are banking on building long-term relationships with customers.

That’s the key!

Successful marketing is about building positive, long-term relationships with people. Never forget that simple fact and it will serve you well in any business.

Repeat business is where the true fortune lies. That’s why honesty and integrity are so important to the business wanting to grow and flourish.

Real profit is generated from subsequent sales, beyond the initial purchase.

The first sale often absorbs most of the costs associated with customer acquisition. Therefore, each subsequent sale has a higher percentage of built-in profit, than the one before. It doesn’t take long before it’s all profit, less of course, the cost of goods sold and any overhead.

Take a close look at your own customer/client list.

How many of your past customers have come back on their own to purchase again?

How many have made purchases on numerous occasions?

What dollar value has each customer been worth to date?

Then, start to think about ways to enhance that value by renewing the buying relationship.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

• Focus on increasing the value of each transaction.

Consider “deluxe” versions, add-ons, and accessories that compliment the original purchase.

Once your customer has mentally agreed to the purchase, they’re much more open to purchasing additional items – particularly those that will enhance the original product.

• Become proactive rather than reactive.

Most businesses wait for customers to find them. Get out there and market yourself. Let the world know about you on a regular basis.

To generate new customers consistently, you need a continuous marketing action plan.

Make it a habit to reach new prospects every week – better yet, every day.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

• Spend more time marketing to the customers you’ve already won over.

This includes current and past customers who haven’t been active buyers for some time.

Stay in touch with periodic publications like newsletters or catalogs. Write, call, fax, email, or mail information at regular intervals. Implement a loyalty program that rewards customers for their patronage. Get infrequent customers to re-order more consistently by simply keeping in touch and presenting new products and different combination packages. Go back to those who bought from you in the past as they’re much more likely to buy from you again.

• Stay current with local and world events.

Consider how these occurrences can affect your business. A new highway can wipe out drive-by traffic to a restaurant on the older route.

The recent terrorist attacks in the U.S. have had monumental effects around the world.

One noted effect is the increase in “cocooning” when people want to spend more time at home with their families where they feel safe.

How can you use this trend to your advantage?

Think of ways to reach people in their cocoon. Offer shopping-at-home through your website or printed catalog. You could also sell products that enhance the cocoon experience – products for entertainment, security, and extra comfort are some obvious choices.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

• Cut your overhead expenses – not your marketing budget.

Any inventory is costing you money. Work at establishing a “just-in-time” delivery system that enables you to receive and redirect shipments promptly as orders roll in.

The last thing you want is to be sitting on inventory that costs money to acquire and store. Be prepared to pay 5% more to suppliers to house inventory for you until you need it.

• Watch for changes happening around you.

Change brings new opportunity. It requires flexibility and the ability to distinguish between genuine trends and short-lived fads.

Be aware of changing interests and attitudes. With increased options, the life cycles of many products has been shortened.

Shorten the time period required to reach your objectives. Act quickly and cash in. Then, introduce a new product. Re-evaluate your timeframe and focus on quicker results on a massive scale.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

• Use information to your advantage.

By providing helpful information, you position yourself as more knowledgeable, experienced, skilled, and service-oriented than anyone else in the industry. Information can be produced inexpensively and offered in a variety of formats to provide added value.

By offering sound and timely advice, people will trust you and favor you with their business and the cost is negligible.

Books, cassettes, CD’s, videos, booklets, articles, and reports can all be effective ways to communicate specialized information.

Since they’re not just promotional, these items tend to receive greater acceptance in the marketplace while helping to sell yourself and your company.

The idea is to share important information your audience wants. Expose your specific knowledge, skills, and experience and you’ll raise the awareness, positioning, and perception of what you offer.

Your intention is to get your message, company name, and your product out there in front of people who have the potential to buy.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

• Be careful about lowering prices on your major products.

Often a drop in price is the first instinctive reaction at times of slower sales... but it’s usually not in your best interests to do so.

A lower price is likely the first way your competitors react. Marketing on price alone is a weak position to take and one that’s virtually impossible to defend. Your competitor can easily and quickly beat you by offering an even greater reduction. If you’re using price as your main strategic weapon, you have no choice but to respond.

As prices drop, so do profit levels.

This forces you to make cuts in other ways such as reducing services, staff, or by squeezing suppliers for better wholesale prices.

Selling on price is a difficult and dangerous game as there’s always someone willing to offer a deeper discount.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

Make marketing your top priority.

Make marketing an essential daily task as it’s the engine that drives every enterprise.

Delegate a predetermined amount of time, or commit to a number of daily tasks (try 5 a day) for generating new business.

If you regularly spend 30 minutes a day on proactive marketing, try doubling your efforts by increasing your marketing time to 60 minutes. If you can’t possibly find another 30 minutes in your busy schedule, set your alarm clock for half an hour earlier.

At first you might find it challenging to haul yourself out of bed any earlier, but eventually, you won’t even notice as you make it your new routine.

The extra 30 minutes spent on promotion may be the most important 30 minutes of your entire day.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge

Taking advantage of free publicity opportunities.

Exposure of your business through appropriate media outlets can be worth a fortune to you. There’s no other marketing tactic that can deliver such an high ROI (return on investment) for such a small investment (usually just your time).

Keep in mind a few simple facts when approaching editors:

1. Make sure to evaluate and target media that’s a good fit for your product or service

2. Approach them with a “news” angle that briefly tells your story

3. Give the editors what they want – content that’s of interest to their audiences

4. Write your press release to get the attention and interest of editors utilizing a unique angle or story behind your product or service

Do you have an personal example of a free publicity opportunity you were able to capitalize on?

How about an example of a press release that led to an increase in leads for your business?

If you do, share your experience with the readers of my blog.

Just enter it in the comments section below. I might feature your story in a future post.

Remember...Grow Your Profit And Prosper!

Rodney Burge