The myth most business owners believe: Too often I hear business owners express how well their business is doing by how much their sales are growing. When I probe, I find that all their marketing and sales efforts are focused on getting new customers.
Why this myth causes a problem: Making that first sale to a customer is the most expensive sale you will ever make! It typically takes more than five sales contacts with a prospect before they decide to buy. All of these contacts are expensive!
The truth successful business owners learn the hard way! Successful business owners know that yes, sales are important; but what they need to focus on most is profits! And the most profitable sale is a repeat sale to their current customer base.
It’s okay to have a marketing plan to bring in new customers. But real profits are made by selling more to your current customers. You can get a sale much more inexpensively by just calling them, visiting them, or sending them a targeted letter or email.
Once the business owner truly understands how important their current customers are, they will do everything in their power to keep a customer as long as possible. Studies continually show that most customers stop buying from a business because they perceive that the business doesn’t care about them. Finding ways to continuously communicate to your customers how much you value them and why it is important to them to continue to buy from you should be a crucial part of your marketing plan.
Lesson learned: Concentrating on selling more to my current customers and keeping the customers I currently have is the fastest way to increase my profits!