Article Surfing Archive

1. Identify the ideal characteristics of an ideal customer. How do you know what kinds of businesses to attack if you have not identified your ideal client? Once you know what type of business to target then have a meeting with your sales force to see if they are focusing on the right type of customers. It is important to also understand who else supplies your target market. Is it possible to meet your competition and see if there is a reciprocal arrangement that would work well for both of you?

2. Use email marketing ' you can now buy lists that are tailored to your specific requirements. These are people or businesses that have opted in to receive emails from other businesses. Using email marketing is the cheapest method of marketing and depending on the products you sell it can often be the most lucrative in terms of money spent versus money made.

3. Contact all old customers who no longer buy from you ' They used to be a customer once, why not again? Before you pick up the phone find out why they stopped buying in the first place! Make sure you have a solution ready before you call them. I have found that previous customers are very receptive to suppliers who failed, if they have an understanding of how the failure occurred and the solution in place to make sure it never happens again!

4. Ask your existing clients for Referrals ' Existing customers are likely to be happy customers and as such are usually receptive to the idea of giving you a referral. I am amazed at how many businesses ignore this basic rule. Every business should be in the habit of asking for referrals and not just from customers. Your suppliers are also well placed and understand the market well enough to maybe give some decent referrals.

5. Do you use standard white envelopes to send your mail? Why not turn your envelope into a marketing work of art? Get them printed in colour on both sides with your latest product or a special offer. How many envelopes do you send out in one day? Why not turn them into mini brochures? If you examine the cost per envelope it is so minute that it really does not make sense not to utilise full colour printing on both sides.

6. Double your sales force overnight by using sales agents who work on commission basis only. They make a sale they get paid! Sales agents are easy to acquire but they usually demand a percentage of the sales price. You can only go down this route if you are making a decent margin to begin with.

7. Can you sell more to existing customers? Often the first few orders you receive from a new customer are trial orders. They want to see how well you perform and deliver. Once you have established a reputation then the time is right to start asking for more business.

Try out one, two or all the ideas above and see what a difference they make in the short term and long term to your business.