Officially the UK's worst ever recession is now over. Quite frankly I think we have a false bottom and I hope that my thoughts are wrong.
Should we be forced to increase bank base rates to 4 or 5% the result will be the same the early 90's when mortgage payments zoom up.
You say "yes but" 1993 saw rates of 15% and I agree... also we will feel the same as our mortgage payments double or triple and the house prices go in a free fall.
Let us all hope that I am wrong although if you're waiting for the boom to make a difference to your business - you could be in for a long wait.
I believe, more than ever, creating growth is down to you as a business operator.
Implement two or three things from the following in your business today, and you'll start to see the difference.
Implement them all, and 2010 is likely to be the best year you've ever had!
1. Talk to Your Customers - applying the BOR Rule
The people most likely to buy from you right now are the ones who've spent the BIG money (B) with you, the most often (O) and the most recently (R). And that means your existing customers. When was the last time you emailed, phoned, mailed or contacted your existing customers? You should be contacting your customers at least 5 to 20 times per year and looking for new products to sell them.
2. Increase Your Marketing Budget
When you see marketing as a cost, you spend less. Instead, calculate what profit your best marketing is generating, cancel the stuff that produces the least, do the same marketing that works in another region or country and suddenly you'll see it as an investment in your future success and growth!
3. Talk about the Benefits
Don't tell people about what you sell; tell them what it does for them. Selling dead rotting flesh that was mainly so fatty it was minced and put in a skin is never same as lighting a BBQ and setting fire to some charcoal placing on pork sausages and asking for a buyer to sell something that was firstly almost unsaleable. Selling the sizzle and not the sausage is not new. Look at your product or service then devise a sales pitch to show how it saves them time, saves them or makes them money, makes life easier or makes other people envy them, and they'll buy!
4. Apply the 80/20 Rule
20% of your customers generate 80% of your profit. 20% of your marketing generates 80% of your leads. Find out where your best 20% is, and make it your focus. Have a COTS programme (cut out the s***) and cull the moaning customer that makes little profit, takes all the time of you and your staff... Identify the customers in the 20% that make 80% and track down more of those from other regions or countries. Stick with the 20% of marketing that works and get rid of the 80% that does not work.... If you do not know which that is then you are a goon and should sell your business to someone in the 21st Century and go to Spain as it is cheap just now and you should leave business to those who can count.
5. Test Google AdWords
Google AdWords is one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways of driving high-quality, profitable traffic to your website (or your 'phone) and winning new customers. Set up an account today for £5 and a test campaign from just a couple of pounds per day. If you don't have the time, confidence or skills - don't mess around get a professional to help or run the Adwords on autopilot.
6. Ask for Referrals
When are your customers most delighted with you? Right at the point of purchase, after they've just committed to hand over their money. So ask them there and then to refer friends, family and colleagues to you. And make it easy – why not give them 5 business cards to hand out?
7. Reverse the Risk
Silence the nagging voice of doubt in your prospect's mind. For most products and services a free trial or a money-back guarantee shows confidence in your offering and can help to inspire a purchase.
8. Try a Special Offer
Adding the right special offer to a sales letter or email can increase response rates! What extra value can you offer your audience to make them take action today?
9. Abandon "Quotes" for Good!
A quote says "here's the cost now use these figures against whilst you shop around". Instead, issuing proposals, saying "for your investment, here's how we'll meet and exceed your objectives, and here's how we'll get started". If you quote for business, try this new proposal approach.
10. Cross Sell
Don't feel awkward cross selling and up selling. If you believe in what you're offering, you owe it to your customers to let them know how they can benefit. By the way, getting a repeat or additional order can be 10 times less costly than winning a new customer!
11. Test "Second Interest" Offers
If your competitors are slogging it out with 50% off" offers, try offering something different. A bottle of wine,day at the races, cinema tickets, gym membership, magazine subscription, high street vouchers, an iPod, a Radio Controlled Car, last week I saw sales triple the sale of Adria caravans by doing a show offer of holiday accomodation that cost almost nothing instead of big extra discount.The value depends on the sale you're courting, but think outside the normal money off.
New think offers work wonders, even with professional services and industrial business-to-business sales.
12. Create a Great First Impression
Every single time! Whether you're greeting customers face-to-face, on the phone, or in writing , make sure you show you're absolutely the best company to deal with and ask at the bottom for a referal.
13. Write to One Person
When you're writing sales letters, emails, web copy or any other marketing material, picture your ideal customer sitting down in front of you ... and write down what you'd say to make them buy what you're selling.
14. Form Special Alliances
Your loyal customers trust you, and will value other companies you recommend to them ... so form alliances with related but businesses and "cross refer" each other to open a new source of leads. This is low cost, high return marketing and could double the size of your potential customer base today.
15. Be Customer Focused Not Ego....
Buyers don't care that you've been in business since 1843, or that you're committed to providing excellent service, or the largest in your area. They want to know "what's in it for me". Make sure your marketing tells them how they'll benefit from dealing with you.
16. Show You Really Care
The biggest reason customers change loyalties is "perceived indifference" – they don't think you care whether they come back to buy from you or not. Make sure you show your customers that you really do value them and create a tribe or following with special existing customer events.
17. Package Your Products
Make it easy for customers to spend more, by showing them what's on offer. Offer spoons with eggs, window cleaner with windows, , prongs and aprons with barbecues ... create a product or service package and your average order value will increase by giving your clients better service.
18. Use Email Broadcast Software
If you're sending out sales emails via Microsoft Outlook or your standard email programme, you'll be staggered to see the "fail" rate. A relatively small investment in a "white listed" email company could see your success and delivery rates multiply by 500% or more. Email marketing is now very successful.
19. Be Specific with claims
People are sceptical of broad claims. "Bigger", "Better", "Faster", "Cheaper". Give them specifics that seem irrefutable to add credibility to your claims, and to give your prospects confidence in what you're offering. Rather than "over 20% more efficient", say "21.7% more efficient". Use the language of the scientist not the salesman.
20. Use "Bounce-back" Offers
A great way to get your customers back through the doors (or onto your website). When customers buy, give or send them an offer to get a free XYZ when they buy again in, or by, for example the third week of next month.
21. Go Back to the "No's" have a CSI
Converting 3 enquiries in 10? 2 in 5? Go back to the "No's" and find out what it will take to turn them into a "Yes". Ask them why they did not buy with a customer survey as called a CSI or customer satisfaction index. It won't take as much work as you think as the hard work is already done. Going from a 3 in 10 conversion rate to 3.3 in 10 will boost your new sales numbers by 10% in 2010.
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