Quick And Dirty Tips For Small Business Improvement
Always listen to your customers
Always listen to your customers. Embrace or commission some quality market research and find out precisely what your buyers want to purchase. If it does come to the crunch and you realise you are not providing what your customers want, consider repackaging or even redesigning your product range to meet their exact needs. This should be reviewed regularly to ensure your small business product relevance.
Where do you spend most of your sales time, is it looking for new customers? Shift your modus operandi and throw some resource behind pampering your existing customers. Whether you see it or not, they are your biggest asset and you should work flat out at the rapport you create with one off customers with the view that they may generate repeat business. Always remember too that keeping customers costs your business five times less than trying to get new ones.
If you have good relationships with your existing customers, get testimonials and ask for referrals. Referrals usually prove to be the best way to get new business, with the advantage that the system is generally very cheap marketing. Make sure to capitalise on any referrals relentlessly and even think about an incentive scheme to reward both parties.
One easy way to remind customers of your existence and generate good will and loyalty is to send out thank you letters. These should sincerely detail your thanks for their business and express how much value you put in their business. Another way to reward loyal customers is by offering a discount from their next purchase.
Carry out some analysis on your product range and client lists. There is a classic rule, the eighty/twenty rule from Pareto that generally applies. In these contexts it would imply that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients and that 80% of your profit will arise from 20% of your products.
If this applies, streamline your business to capitalise on the results. Make sure you leave small clients room to grow!
Do you have a policy to resolve conflict with customers if they complain about an element of your service. If not, create one. Don't react in a negative manner to complaints, instead offer a fast and relevant resolution that makes the customers experience absolutely perfect. They will then recommend you in the market positively. The damage done through word of mouth from a customer detailing a bad experience is too severe to contemplate.