Business – Page 4 – Velocity Media

23 November 2013

Four ways to enhance your customer experiences and improve profits

I’m guest posting over at Flying Solo on ways to enhance your customer experience and boost your profitability. You can read the full article here, though here is a sneak peek…

Of the many ways to increase profitability in your business, giving your customers an experience they’ll never forget is a highly effective one.

No one sells your business like a happy customer. When your customers sing your praises and prove your value and claims through their own experiences, a whole new level of trust and credibility is awarded to you and your business.

With repeat customer sales and referrals also being the cheapest and easiest business you will ever generate, it‘s smart to spend more time nurturing and leveraging your existing customer relationships to create even more happy customers.

With this in mind, here are four tips to help you enhance your customer experience and increase profitability in the process.

1. Stop selling and start serving

Instead of focusing on generating sales, focus on your potential customer’s needs, wants, goals, challenges and how you can help them.

You will find that when you stop selling and start serving, your customer’s guard comes down. Not only will they be more receptive to what you are saying, they will open up to you, rewarding you with more information that will help you make the sale and turn them into a satisfied customer.

2. Ask questions and listen to the answers

Questions are incredibly powerful. You can qualify a potential customer, establish rapport, identify needs, build relationships, increase credibility and close a sale simply by asking the right questions and listening closely to the answers.

The more targeted your questions, the easier it is to give your customers exactly what they need, reward and “wow” them in ways they would personally appreciate, and find even more ways to help to them.

3. Stay in contact regularly

To build a relationship with your customers you need to stay in regular contact with them, but not just with newsletters and email marketing. Instead, make genuine, personal contact. Talk to them to see how they are going. Keep in touch in a way that makes them say “wow”

For example, once your customer has bought your product or service you could send out a small gift voucher they can use for their next purchase as a thank you for doing business with you. A week after they have used your product or service you could call them to see how they are going, if they have any questions and if you can help them with anything further. This can be a great way to show you care, create opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell and get feedback, which can generate testimonials or help you address any concerns.

Also keep track of when customers are due for your product or service, whether it is a refill, check-up, follow-up or replacement, and send them a reminder with a special offer or bonus. By being proactive, your customers will feel more special and your thoughtfulness will be rewarded with loyalty, repeat sales and referrals.

Amanda

23 November 2013

Four questions that will transform your business

As the end of year approaches quickly, it’s quite natural as business owners to start thinking about the year ahead. What plans we’ll make, the new goals and targets we’ll set and of course how we can make our businesses even better and more profitable in the coming year.

To help you with this process and get you thinking more strategically about your plans, here are four questions to ask yourself that will help you transform your business.

“What are my customers and potential customers’ greatest challenges and what is it costing them?”

Identifying your customers and potential customers’ greatest challenges will help you develop more relevant products and services, identify ways to upsell, cross sell or resell your customers and of course make it easier to position your products or services as a necessity your customers “must” buy.

Beyond that, it will also help you form more profitable alliances and referral partnerships with other businesses your customers may need before or after you, opening up more opportunities and income sources.

By answering the second part of the question, “what is it costing them?” you’ll be able to identify your customers pain points which will make your marketing messages more targeted, strategic, personalised and as a result more effective.

“What are my customers telling me verbally and non-verbally?”

Your customers are always your greatest source of learning so listen closely to what they are saying and also look at what they aren’t saying.

Are some products and services selling more than others? Do they praise you for a particular area consistently? Do they complain about a certain area consistently? Are they coming back and buying regularly? Are they referring others?

When you take the time to listen to what your customers are telling you you’ll start to identify areas you can improve, work out your most profitable products and services and find out ways to make your customers happier, more loyal and as a result more inclined to buy again and refer.

“How can I move away from exchanging time for money?”

This question addresses one of the biggest challenges we can face as business owners, particularly those of us who provide services. With time being our most limited resource, the last thing we want is our income being capped by how much time we can devote to our work.

By starting to think about what else you can do other than just charge for your time you’ll start to develop different products and identify other sources of income, particularly passive income.

“How can I leverage my time, knowledge, money, resources, contacts and efforts to further my business?”

This would have to be one of the most powerful questions you could ask yourself. Leverage will help you to grow your business quicker with less time, money and effort spent.

True entrepreneurs spend most of their time answering this question with one addition – how can I leverage other people’s time, knowledge, money, resources, contacts and efforts too?

If you start asking these questions as you do your business planning for the year ahead, you’ll be sure to make it your best year yet. What questions would you add?

Amanda

15 November 2013

Four marketing mistakes that could be costing you big money and business

When done right marketing can generate you thousands of dollars in sales and grow your business to levels you had only dared dream of. But when done wrong, it can be a very costly exercise, not just in wasted spending, but also in lost opportunity and credibility.

To ensure your marketing is effective as possible, here are four of the most common mistakes businesses make regularly that could be costing you money and potential business.

#1 – Not following up

One of the biggest and most expensive mistakes you can make in marketing is to not follow up.

Whether you’ve attended a networking event, sent a sales letter, conducted a meeting or distributed a media release, if you want to increase your marketing results – always follow up.

Not every letter is delivered, not every email is seen, not every business card is kept and not every media release is opened. Following up gives you a second chance to convert the sale or opportunity.

#2 – Not up or cross selling existing customers

The second biggest marketing mistake a business can make is to focus only on bringing in new business instead of utilising their existing customers and database.

These are people who already have a need for your products or services and have seen the value in buying with you or at the very least hearing from you.

While bringing in new business is important, look to up sell, cross sell and generate repeat sales your existing customers and database. They will always be the easiest leads to convert.

#3 – Targeting everyone

The third marketing mistake is to not be clear on your target market. There is no quicker way to waste your marketing dollars than to target anyone and everyone.

To be more strategic with your marketing know who needs your product or service and who has the problems you solve.

Once you know who they are look at their key motivators and influencers. What is most important to them? What keeps them up at night? What do they read? Who do they listen to? Who do they follow on social media? Where do they network?

Start to develop a profile of your audience so you can identify strategies and platforms that will make your marketing more targeted.

#4 – Not establishing your value

The fourth mistake is to not clearly articulate your value and why a customer should come to you above anyone else.

Even the cleverest advertising and most targeted marketing campaigns won’t help you if you can’t establish your value and convert the people you are talking to.

Before you embark on your next marketing campaign or print thousands of brochures, work out your target market’s needs, challenges and frustrations, how you can add value and why you are different to every other person out there offering the same products and services.

Are any of these marketing mistakes costing you business? What can you do today to ensure your marketing is more effective, targeted and profitable?

Amanda

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