As a small business owner, it’s completely natural to have concerns about growing your profits.
Trust me; we’ve all been there. The pressure and stress that come with it can sometimes be pretty overwhelming.
But here’s the thing—one crucial factor is often overlooked in the sales process. This is the value of your existing customer base.
Picture this: if you could persuade each of your current customers to come back time and time again, you’d increase your transactions per customer dramatically.
According to recent data, 51% of our current customers are more likely to try new services from us AND spend 31% more with us than new customers.
Also, finding new customers can cost five times more than retaining an existing one. Increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits by a whopping 25%-95%!
Pretty amazing stuff, right?!
Let me take a deep dive into some ways to help you get your customers to buy more from you and unlock the true growth potential of your business.
Provide Exceptional Customer Service
Of course, it’s no surprise that fantastic customer service can make all the difference in earning your customers’ loyalty and encouraging them to return for more.
So, you might ask yourself, “How can I ensure my customer service is the best it can be?”
Well, the key is in making sure your customer service team is not only prepared but also fully trained. They need to be both quick to respond, and really clued up about what your services involve. If your customers come to you with questions, worries, or complaints, it’s crucial to tackle them immediately and show that you care.
In fact, why not go one step further and exceed their expectations. Trust me, a little extra effort can go a long way!
Top Tip: Don’t underestimate the power of customer data. I thoroughly recommend getting your hands on a Customer Relationship Management tool (CRM). It will make a world of difference by showing your customers’ likes, purchase history, and behaviour. Personally, I’m a big fan of Pipedrive and HubSpot.
Once you have all this information at your fingertips, you can tailor your customer service to each individual, suggesting things they’ll love as well as offering promotions that hit the mark.
This personal touch will boost your chances of customers returning for more.
Offer Subscription or Membership Services
Have you ever thought about introducing subscription or membership plans to your business? It’s a brilliant way to keep the money rolling in regularly. This is especially true if you’re running a service business where maintenance, consulting, or education and training services can be offered repeatedly.
Here’s an idea: why not develop different levels or packages that give your customers exclusive perks and monthly access to particular resources? This kind of approach increases the overall value your customers get and also sets up a nice, steady stream of income for your business.
The result? A big boost to your cash flow and the chance to plan, invest, and grow your business.
Top Tip: There are some fantastic online platforms out there that really make subscription or membership models easy, like Thinkific, Kajabi, or Teachable. Or, if you’d like to turn parts of your existing website into members-only areas in just a few clicks, Memberspace is your friend.
Leverage The Power Of Email Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most powerful online tools for keeping those customer relationships strong and getting repeat sales. Nowadays, 64% of successful small businesses use email marketing to reach new and existing customers.
If you want to get customers to buy more from you, here’s what I suggest:
Firstly, start building segmented email lists based on customer preferences, past purchases, or how engaged they are with your brand.
Next, ensure you’re sending out personalised emails with exclusive promotions, recommendations relevant to their interests, or updates about your company.
And lastly, always aim to provide content that’s full of value. That way, you’ll stay at the forefront of their minds and help to nurture those all-important customer relationships.
Identify Cross-Selling and Upselling Opportunities
Upselling is a handy sales technique where you suggest extra services, encourage upgrades to higher-priced offerings, or even push other add-ons, all with the aim of adding to your income.
You should grab every opportunity to cross-promote and upsell your services to your existing customers. It’s all about showing them how your other offerings can complement or enhance their current experience with you.
Top Tip: Create an “Opportunities Matrix”. Ask your clients to tell you what they think your top five services are. Then, see how their answers match up with your actual best-selling items. It’s a real eye-opening exercise.
To create an Opportunities Matrix:
● Begin by opening Excel and list your top ten customers in Column A.
● On the top row, enter your top-selling products or services.
● Assign a “Y” in cells where the client already purchased this product or service and an “N” in cells where the corresponding product / service is of no interest to them or is irrelevant.
● Next, get to work on filling the empty cells. This involves contacting your customers and telling them about additional offerings they may not know about.
Implementing this strategy alone has led some of my coaching clients to double their profits.
Continuously Gather Customer Feedback
Listening to your customers and seeking feedback is crucial to encouraging them to buy more from you. Ask them what they think, understand their changing needs, and pinpoint where you can improve your services. If you keep tweaking your offerings to meet what your customers expect, you’ll win their loyalty and see a nice uptick in sales.
Top Tip: There are some handy and budget-friendly online tools that make collecting customer feedback easy. My favourites include SurveyMonkey and Google Forms.
Foster a Sense of Community
Building a community around your brand helps to encourage a loyal customer base. You could start with online forums, social media groups, or interactive platforms where customers can connect, swap stories, and interact with your brand.
This could lead to user-generated content, spark interesting discussions, and position your brand as a valuable resource.
When you create this sense of belonging, customers are more likely to stick around, make more purchases, and even become cheerleaders for your brand.
Take a look at Monzo, for example. It’s a mobile-only digital bank that’s built a thriving online community. They’ve got an online forum for sharing tips, advice, feedback, and updates, and they’re always very open about what’s going on with the company. Their customer service is fantastic, and they’re very active on social media.
This online engagement and openness around their brand has created a real sense of belonging. This has played a huge part in their growth and success in the fintech sector. Monzo boasted over 4 million customers by the end of 2020 alone, many of whom are actively involved in their online community.
Top Tip: Social media is an excellent low-budget way to start community building. Facebook Groups and WhatsApp groups can really encourage conversations and community.
Getting your customers to buy more from you is key to accelerating your business growth and customer loyalty. You can achieve this by focusing on personalisation, outstanding customer service, and the right marketing tools.
By continually offering value and experiences that truly engage, you’ll be well on your way to getting the most out of every customer and unlocking your business’s full potential.
If you need extra sales and profit growth support, schedule a complimentary 30-minute business profit growth session with me HERE.
