Key To Ultimate Marketing Plan

  1. Attract more new customers (Reach)
  2. Increase the average sales amount (Average Check)
  3. Make your customers buy from you more often (Frequency)
  4. Hold on to your customers for life (Retention)

I believe small businesses focus to much of their efforts on issues that have nothing to do with these four strategies. It is very easy to act with knee jerk
activities to the issue dujour. The key is to do go through the proper planning process, and then choose the area that needs to be focused on. Today you may
decide to focus on new customers but a year from now you may need to change your focus. This is an ongoing process and your local sales area changes every day.
You will have to change with it or you will die.

Don’t get me wrong. Referrals are the best kind of customers. But if you spend the majority of your time and money trying to get them you may be neglecting a
whole slew of new customers that are waiting to buy from you.

In the same vein, if small business spends all its time marketing to new customers and ignoring existing customers, you may be missing out on a lot of low hanging
fruit.

As I mentioned, there are many ways to leverage your marketing efforts in these four categories. here are just a few ways to improve each of your areas of growth:

Attract more new customers…

  • Select a niche market that you can easily contact and dominate it.
  • Develop an Education Based Marketing Program that compels your prospects to contact you to learn more about how you can help them.
  • Establish a proactive referral program with centers of influence that can open new channels of growth for you and your business.

Increase the Average Sales Amount…

  • Up-sell your customers to high quality products and services
  • Suggest accessories and add-on items and services that compliment your customer’s purchase
  • combine several items into a package that would cost less if sold seperatley

Make your customers buy from you more often…

  • Establish ongoing communications that present compelling offers that can’t be turned down.
  • Follow up with your customers to see how they’re enjoying the benefits of the new product or service you sold them, and suggest products or services that would increase their satisfaction
  • Track your customer’s usage and buying patterns to suggest purchases right before they actually need them (this also helps keep the competition away)

Hold on to your customers for life…

  • Deliver uncommon customer service by going the extra mile
  • give your customers the opportunity to go on record by giving you testimonials about your great customer service
  • Perform stealth surveys with your customers from time to time to gauge their level of satisfaction