Retaining Your Customers Does Not Need To Be This Difficult...
Need to grow your business in the upcoming year? Hoping to increase sales or profits? Worried about where you are going to find the customers to make that happen?
Your most lucrative customers are in your own database! Your current customers are your biggest untapped resource. These are customers that already know, like, and trust you and your business. They are already familiar with your brand and obviously see the value of your products and services because they keep coming back to buy from you.
Chances are that your customers are not aware of all the products or services that your business provides and they need to be enlightened. They may already subscribe to one or two of your services and don’t realize that you can help them in other ways as well. Take advantage of the opportunity to sell more by cross-selling or up-selling to your existing customers.
It is less expensive to market to current customers than to acquire new customers. You marketing and sales efforts will likely be better received by someone who already does business with you. You already know this customer, who to contact, how to reach them and what they buy. The decision maker is more likely to take your call or respond to your marketing efforts. You don’t have to go through the hassle of prospecting and doing detective work to qualify your list.
Marketing to current customers is vital to growing and sustaining your business. You may not be marketing to your current customers but I guarantee your competition is and you don’t want them to have the upper hand. Your best customers are you competitor’s best prospects and you don’t want to lose them.
Customer retention campaigns are essential in today’s competitive marketplace and your customer loyalty is a vital part of your business. An effective customer retention program can be the right solution to secure those valuable relationships.
Neglect is the most common reason why many customers leave. Think about yourself in comparison to your competition. You probably offer a similar product or service at a similar price so you need to be consistently reminding your customers of what differentiates you from your competition and give them a reason to keep coming back.
It is very important that you continue to acquire new customers but make sure that your marketing budget and sales efforts allow for a customer retention program that will keep them coming back for more.
Amanda Moore
www.piptampa.com
Step right up...
How do you define sales? Is it cold calling, networking, following up, leaving voice mails, writing letters, sending materials, creatively plotting how to attract your next victim/buyer, and then praying that they seal the deal and actually buy something? Many sales people participate in a multitude of activities in order to make a sale that range from promotion to marketing…but can you tell the difference between these activities?
I want to share a cute circus example that I have heard several times in my network to help distinguish the difference:
- If the Circus is coming to town and you create a billboard that reads “Circus Coming to the Fairgrounds this Saturday,” that’s advertising.
- If you hang a sign on the side of an elephant and walk him through town, that’s promotion.
- If the elephant tramples the mayor’s garden, that’s publicity.
- If you get the mayer to laugh about it, that’s public relations.
- What if the town citizens go to the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they will have spending money at these booths, answer all of their questions, and convince them to spend a lot of money at the circus? THAT’S SALES!
As salespeople we must wear many different hats. We do whatever it takes to please the customer and seal the deal. Customers depend on us to make the impossible possible and that means we must become a jack of all trades. But salespeople are the rainmakers…and we can make it happen! Hope that gave you a chuckle, happy selling!
Amanda Moore
Watch your marketing grow your business!
I thought to get this blog rolling I would share our marketing strategies for 2009. These ideas have been compiled from our corporate headquarters, other colleagues, and trial and error from 18 years in the business that we have customized to fit our specific marketing objectives.
PIP Printing and Marketing Services is part of a large franchise that boasts hundreds of locations throughout the United States and we are lucky to have many extended resources. Corporately we have repositioned our brand, marketing strategies, and advertising efforts. With an updated new look, tagline, and message we are rolling out many new marketing and branding tools such as new brochures, business cards, stationary, and branded materials.
We are participating in a monthly direct mail campaign. Direct mail is important to our business as it allows us to reach out to current customers and prospects. Direct mail keeps our brand in front of our customers and regularly keeps them aware of our products and services. Our direct mail efforts are successful due to our cultivated mail list and consistent follow up efforts.
Our customer service representative is always trying to cross sell or up sell our current customers to inform them about our extended products and services that they may not be aware of. At the point of sale she will mention a complimentary product or perhaps a service they may not know we offer. We make sure to plant the seed with every customer, send them back to the office with a brochure, and follow up to offer more information.
For the first time ever, our particular location has created an integrated direct marketing campaign. This campaign combines several of our products and services into a unique marketing strategy specifically aimed at acquiring new customers. The campaign incorporates promotional items, graphic design, digital services, variable print, database management, mailing services, website, and fresh baked cookies! The program targeted specific prospects and required aggressive follow up efforts and has brought in a 30% response rate so far.
PIP Printing will unveil our long anticipated new website in the second quarter. The new site will have an updated look, interactive feel, and personalized touches. The new site will have a reverse approach to the typical marketing efforts and will tie all of our new and improved branded materials together.
An aggressive and outside sales force pounds the pavement the old fashioned way. New prospects are targeted with cold calls, phone calls, and knocking on doors.
We spent the first few weeks of the New Year combing through our current mail list to verify and update our contacts. This guarantees that our marketing efforts are reaching the right people and we are not wasting precious marketing dollars.
Networking and participating in community activities allows our company to spread brand recognition, meet new colleagues, and give back to our community. We actively support and participate in groups such as the Kiwanis Club of Tampa, Tampa Bay and Company, and The Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
Most importantly, we try to analyze the success of our marketing efforts. This can be as simple as asking every new customer how they heard about us. Or as elaborate as creating a personalized URL or special landing page to measure response to integrated direct marketing campaigns. It all comes down to ROI and no matter how simple or elaborate, it is important to know which of your marketing efforts are successful and which are not worth the money spent.
None of these efforts are guaranteed to be successful but with the combined approach, proactive marketing, and consistent follow up efforts we are seeing results.
Amanda Moore
Welcome to the first official PIP blog! We are very excited to join the blogging community to talk about our favorite topic of marketing services. Through this blog I hope to share marketing ideas, suggestions, solutions, and case studies that will hopefully better your business and your marketing efforts. I will be incorporating information from our center’s personal experience, ideas from books that I am reading, as well as share information that I gather from my colleagues and other professionals in the marketing, printing, and sales industries.
My intention is to make this an open forum of ideas on how to help your business grow! All feedback is encouraged and appreciated so please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. This blog was created with our readers in mind and I want your input.
Please enjoy and best of luck in your marketing efforts!
Amanda Moore
PIP Printing and Marketing Services
3616 West Cypress Street
Tampa, FL. 33607
813.879.7784
amanda@piptampa.com
www.piptampa.com
