How To Find Out Exactly What To Sell To Your Customers To Gain Repeat Business

In this article, I’m going to share an idea which has been a revelation to a large number of my clients.

While taking many of them through the process of turning one-purchase customers into repeat-purchase clients, there has usually been a clear understanding that it is based around selling more to each client – having a ‘back-end’ of products and services to sell to them.

But for the majority, there has been a stumbling block…

… what exactly should they offer?

Well, the good news is that there is a relatively easy thing you can do to help you come up with some ideas, although it may be a new concept for many business owners…

… ASK your customers what they need and what you can do for them.

Now it might seem an obvious thing to say, but it’s surprising how many business people don’t appear to speak to, or communicate with, their customers regularly enough!

A big part of the problem as I see it, is that there is too much emphasis placed on trying to generate new prospects.

While this is obviously important for a business to grow, it is often at the expense of the huge goldmine already in the business which is waiting to be tapped… existing customers and clients.

Independent research has shown, time and again, that the most common cause of a customer leaving your business and buying from a competitor – actually around 68% of the customers who leave will do so for this reason – is because they feel ignored. They feel that once they have made their first purchase with you, your business just doesn’t care about them.

So, this approach of asking your customers what they actually want – what their problems are for which they may well need your help – helps you kill three birds with one stone…

1. Firstly, it gives you a reason to touch base with them, which demonstrates you care, and can lead to a longer, more profitable relationship.
2. Secondly, you are seen to take a genuine interest, in the needs, wants and wellbeing of your customers, by finding out what else you can do to help them.
3. And finally, it gives you the opportunity to create – or to find someone to partner with who already has – additional products or services you can offer your customers, which will solve their problems.

 

To give you some ideas of what to look for, here are some products/services which were created by my customers after they had quizzed their customers…

Web Designer

One of the things which came out of the questioning process for Mark, was that his customers wanted to be able to do basic (but effective) Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in-house, to gain the benefits without paying the “exorbitant charges” some SEO experts were asking for.

Mark teamed up with an SEO expert and now sends his clients a quarterly report on the top, most effective SEO tactics, together with examples, tools, website listings, and other useful information.

By publishing quarterly, he can keep up to date with any changes Google make, and also keeps in touch with his clients at least 4 times a year.

But that’s not all…

Mark has also turned this report into an income stream with his SEO partner, where they are selling the report as a standalone item, and are currently making an additional £19,400 per year (and growing) with no additional cost or effort.

Accountancy Practice

This accountancy practice found many of their clients wanted to understand their Cashflow Forecasts, and their balance sheet. It turned out that many of the clients didn’t really understand how they could use the information to plan their business properly.

So one of the senior partners started running 2 hour workshops on a Saturday morning, to demystify accounting.

Within 6 months each session had an average of 18 attendees – many of them ‘non-clients’ – a significant number of which converted into clients.

So, actually, your clients may well give you ideas for opportunities you would have never have thought of, just by asking them.

Make the effort to talk to them and find out if there are other things they need – whether you provide them or not – and see if you can help them, either directly, by joint ventures or through introductions.

Just by focusing a bit more attention on your existing customers, you can easily (and cheaply) create additional revenue, WITHOUT having to spend a fortune on ineffective advertising.

Jez Hunt is the owner of The Client Relationship Guy. Find out how you can increase your profits without increasing your marketing budget at his Free blog today: http://theclientrelationshipguy.com/blog/. You can also subscribe to weekly tips about “How To Build Profitable Customer Relationships “.

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2. Getting Referrals
3. Using Twitter To Find Customers, Suppliers Or Partners.
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5. What Do the Letters IFA Mean?

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