Frequently of course we like to spring clean, getting rid of the old to make way for the new. What about in your business to see good growth is that a good practice?
Well of course for your products or services this will be an ongoing process, you may introduce new stock to your portfolio, or improve or change some service offerings to respond to market conditions, if you’re not continually moving forward then typically you’re moving back so of course a continual development and spring clean makes sense.
But what about your customer base, do you react in the same way for this part of your business?
In some instances, on occasion you will ‘sack’ some clients and this is a good thing to do. These are the ones that actually ‘cost’ you money in terms of time and energy. Every business picks up a few of these along the way that simply drain resource when you could be doing something far more profitable. For whatever reason they just don’t fit into your client mould so for this reason its a far better solution for both companies to wave goodbye. Also sometimes as your business grows and changes then you will outgrow some of your original customers. Now while its sad to see them go, after all they helped you get to where you are, again it’s a better solution for both organisations to part company.
Then you’re left with your core clients, the ones that you want to love and cherish and hope to get ‘a little bit more’ out of. So how can you spring clean your remaining list? Here’s a few ideas for you:
- Think Mc Donalds who are probably the Worlds best at ‘up-selling’. When you order anywhere in the World you get asked if you want to ‘make it large’. So simple but so effective. What is your company version of ‘making it large’. If you’re a carpet shop, then moving furniture, getting rid of old carpet can all be a way of increasing that sale.
- Think Lifetime Value If you have a product that will need replacing at some point in time, what incentive can you give to that customer to keep coming back to you. It doesn’t always have to be a discount, think about what service or extra you can add that doesn’t cost you too much.
- Think Complementary This is probably the easiest one. As an example if you sell skincare products, if a customer is buying a cleanser then the chances are he or she is in the market for the moisturiser in the same range. So make sure they know about it.
- Think Sales Aid If you sell into a business to business environment what can you do to help your customers to sell more? It might be simply helping them to put quotations together or providing sales support. This in one way to increase your revenue. If you are in the business to consumer market place then a referral incentive might be your only option
- Think Reminders Don’t assume your clients know everything you do, you need to constantly remind them of your products and service, regular communication is key. Even a simple question at the bottom of your email footer might spark some interest. (a kind of p.s. If you love our X then you should try Y) This can change frequently and it only takes a minute!
Do one simple spring clean task today – your bank balance will thank you!