Photo / Thinkstock
In last week's marketing column I talked about a costly problem faced by 83 per cent of businesses.
This marketing problem is surprisingly common.
A business does a good job with the products or services they offer and their customers really like what they do.
However their customers don't remember the business regularly. So the business loses a fortune in repeat and referral sales.
So how do you solve this common marketing problem?
If you want easy sales and regular referrals people have to remember you two ways.
Positively and frequently.
Tim adds great value to his database by recommending a good local business each month. He then adds more value by publicly thanking in his email every single person who has given him a referral in the previous month.
The only way that will happen is if you are in contact regularly with your customers and key contacts. (Otherwise they forget you.)
The real secret is to 'add value' whenever you make contact.
In other words you don't need to always talk about your business and what you sell when you make contact with people.
Instead, focus on adding value in some way. Here's a good example...
I interviewed a top selling real estate sales professional called Tim a while ago and he told me that 66 per cent of his business each month comes directly from referrals.
(In other words people contact him and ask if he can sell their current home or help them to buy another one. Tim told me these are very easy sales!)
And he gets all these referrals by using a super simple (yet amazingly effective) added value marketing programme.
Tim has a small database of only 250 people. And each month he sends these people a one page 'snail mail' letter and a four paragraph email. (He also phones each person and speaks to them briefly three times a year.)
In his one page 'snail mail' letter Tim says hello and mentions a local business that he has used recently and can highly recommend. It might be a great café, excellent tradesperson, helpful professional person etc. He gives the full contact details of this business and explains exactly why this business is so good.
Tim then sends a short email the following week that is the key to his added value marketing programme. The email says something like this:
'Hi John, just wanted to let you know that the XYZ business I mentioned last week in my letter has now been popular with some of my clients. A number have tried it out and really like it. I also want to take a moment to personally thank Fred Smith, Jane Evans, George White, Mary Brown and Elizabeth Green for giving me referrals over the last month. I really appreciate their thoughtfulness. Have a great month and if you have any friends or colleagues who are interested in buying or selling a home I'd love to be of service. Kind regards. Tim.'
Tim adds great value to his database by recommending a good local business each month. He then adds more value by publicly thanking in his email every single person who has given him a referral in the previous month.
And every month he does the same thing. He mentions a business he can recommend in a short snail mail letter. And he mentions the same business and thanks everyone who gave him a referral in a short email.
Tim does this month in and month out. And he gets 66 per cent (two thirds) of his business every month as referral or repeat business. Not a bad way to go!!
Tim told me that it took about six months before his added value marketing system started producing regular repeat and referral business.
So you will have to regularly stay in touch and add value for a while before you start to enjoy the easy repeat and referral sales you are looking for.
The way I see it the next few months will pass before you know it.
So why not start staying in touch and adding value this week?
It's a simple way to get your business positively remembered.
"25 per cent of your success in business is getting a sale from a customer. Another 25 per cent of your success comes from getting repeat sales from a customer. A whopping 50 per cent of your business success comes from getting existing customers to recommend and promote you to their friends, associates and colleagues." -
Ross Reck (Author of 'Turn your customers into your sale force')
Action Exercise:
How could you 'add value' this week to some of your clients and contacts so you get remembered positively?
Minister Andrew Bayly sat down with Tom Raynel to discuss his 2024, and what comes next.