Monday, January 3, 2011

5 Tips to Market to Current Clients: On a Budget

By Rachel Kuhn, Sales and Marketing Assistant

In a smaller business, it’s easy to put off marketing because you will “get to it later.” Marketing is a must; even if it’s in a money-saving point of the year, you can concentrate on marketing to your current clients on a budget. There are many ways to market to current or potential clients where the sky is the limit when it comes to the investment of the campaign or project. What most don’t realize is that marketing to your current clients can be very inexpensive and extremely effective.

There are a number of ways to effectively receive feedback and provide solutions to the clients in which you already do business, and I will touch on what I believe are the 5 most important ways of doing so.

1. Talk to them. Communication with your customers is essential. Whether it’s picking up the phone for a short conversation to see how things are going or sending a newsletter each quarter and following up for feedback, it is the fact that you communicate that is important, not how. Keeping the line of communication open is going to do nothing but help your relationship with that client.

2. Get personal. It is important to build personal relationships with your clients if you want that loyalty factor to remain. Once that relationship is built, they will feel they can come to you in any situation and resolve it if there is an issue instead of just finding another company as a solution. Not to mention, “getting personal” with your current clients costs you nothing but your time and I think it’s fair to say it would be time well spent.

3. Manage your reputation. Just as quickly as an unhappy customer can bring down the reputation of a company, good customer service can boost the reputation. Keep your customers coming back by always putting them first and provide excellent customer service, always.

4. Show your appreciation. Letting your clients know how much you appreciate their business is an extremely effective way of keeping them loyal to your company/brand. If you show genuine appreciation, they will always remember the thoughtfulness. You can do this a number of ways; you can send your current clients a “thank you” card or e-mail (which you may think to be a no-brainer, but you would be shocked at how many businesses do not take the time to write them). You could also meet up with them for coffee or lunch to tell them how grateful you are for their business or even send them a small gift card for somewhere they enjoy. It can be as simple as a $5 gift card for coffee at their favorite coffeehouse. It’s the little, thoughtful gestures that are going to make them remember you.

5. Get involved. It is important to demonstrate your dedication to your community. If one of your clients is involved with a particular charity or event, consider donating your time, money or goods to the cause! A little effort here could go a long way.

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