How to sell more to current customers

One of the few constants in the current business environment is that companies are working hard to increase sales to current customers. Convincing people who know and like your business to make another purchase typically takes less time, money, and energy than finding a new buyer. What’s more, a Bain & Co. study finds that repeat purchasers can spend close to 70% as much as one-time shoppers — and they make more referrals, too.

How do you build and protect your profitability by selling to your all-important, existing customer base? The answer is a mixture of service, marketing, and sales.

Use these tips to fine-tune your customer service and marketing strategies to keep your customers coming back for more.

Provide great service

Upselling and cross-selling start with good service. Salesforce reports that 84% of buyers say the experience they have with a company is just as important as its products or services. And, on this front, there’s room for improvement in most organizations: 54% of people say that the companies they buy from need to transform the way they engage with customers.

Pave the way for selling to current customers and bolster the service you provide by:

• Knowing how your customers define good service: Some buyers care most about the service they receive from a responsive team that understands their challenges. Others want fast delivery or 24/7/365 access to help. Survey your audience — using inexpensive tools, such as SurveyMonkey™, QuestionPro®, or Alchemer — to learn what to learn what they most want or expect. If you think you know this cold, consider that nearly a third of customers say the businesses they deal with don’t understand their needs, and 75% say poor customer service negatively impacts their opinion of an organization, according to a Pegasystems report.
• Establishing a process: When you have a standard process for how you respond to problems, capture details of the issue, and escalate when needed, your chances of a happy resolution increase. Also, train your staff on the importance of listening to customers and empathizing with their frustrations. An unhappy customer can’t be turned around until they feel that they’ve been fully heard.
• Communicating clearly: Avoiding misunderstandings keeps customer relationships on good footing and your current base open to buying more. Clearly communicate policies for updates to the work you’ve delivered, payment terms, returns, extra fees, and any other details that may arise in a relationship. These details should be communicated during the sales process, included in contracts, and posted online and in-store.

Personalize your marketing

Reaching out to current customers to encourage them to buy works best when you show that you know and understand them. Personalization in marketing happens when a business uses the data it has on current or prospective customers to customize messaging to their needs or challenges. An Evergage report notes that 78% of marketers feel that personalization has a strong or extremely strong impact on advancing customer relationships. This is with good reason: Over half of consumers anticipate personalized messaging as a standard of service, according to Redpoint Global.

Good personalization goes beyond just addressing your customers by name. The information you know about your current customers — such as their purchase history, the pain points they have, the channels they prefer to use to communicate with you, buying behavior, demographic information, and more — can help you create messages that will make them feel connected to your business.

Use personalized marketing to upsell or cross-sell by:

• Reaching out to let customers know about products, services, new features, new inventory, or other updates related to what they currently buy from you.
• Creating a promotion based on what you know about a segment of your audience in which you use customer testimonials from buyers who share their demographics, firmographics, or other traits.
• Crafting a company newsletter that shares information of interest to the recipients and keeps you top of mind when any purchase needs arise.
• Looking for seasonal sales opportunities. Based on knowing when your customers set strategies and budgets, find times of the year when potential is high to sell them other things.

Raise your visibility

Even if you’re seeking sales from current customers, visibility matters. Given two products with similar ratings, consumers are more likely to buy the product with more reviews, because reviews from their peers make a product or service seem more credible and authentic. Along with word of mouth, reviews and testimonials are two of the top ways that people make purchase decisions, so this nudging can help drive sales.

After someone purchases your product or service, ask them to share their experience by giving you a review. When asked, most customers are happy to share feedback.

To encourage customers to share their opinions, you should:

• Keep the process simple: If you send an email or text asking for a review, when a user clicks on it, make sure they’re taken directly to the page where they can give their review.
• Be responsive: You hope reviews are positive, but if someone posts a negative review, respond and try to address their concern. This will show current and prospective clients that you care about what your customers think.
• Make it worth their time: When appropriate, offer a small incentive as a thank-you, such as free shipping or a discount on a future purchase.

Online reviews also serve another purpose: They create additional content for your website and can help improve your ranking with search engines, increasing your visibility even more.

Pivot your offerings

Consider what changes you may need to make to your product offerings, delivery options, pricing structure, or other aspects of your business to stay relevant to those who buy from you now.

If you don’t feel informed enough to decide how to pivot, consider a short survey in which you ask your market about their problems and priorities. This doesn’t necessarily mean asking customers what they want to buy from you. Rather, ask them about shifts in their concerns, priorities, and spending. Some ways to pivot include:

• New channels: For example, provide online consultations or conferences instead of in-person training. Or, put inventory online if people are less willing to visit your store.
• New offerings: A restaurant supply company that previously supplied dishes and glassware could pivot to offering to-go containers if its customers are shifting towards takeout options. Or, an IT provider who used to visit offices can support security solutions to keep sensitive data safe in home office environments.

Share your company culture

Customers are looking for more from business relationships than product, price, and service. How you source materials, treat employees, and give back to the community are essential parts of who you are to your buyers.

Be transparent with your customers about how you operate to show them you’re the type of partner they want to work with. Share stories on social media, in email newsletters, and on your website to showcase your company identity and values.

• If your employees volunteer regularly at a local nonprofit, share this news. This will raise visibility for your company and the organization they’re supporting.
• Likewise, if you financially support a charity, use your voice to raise awareness for their cause. Let your customers know why you chose this organization and why their work is important to you.
• Let your customers know how you choose the partners that source your products and materials. Highlight anything notable about your goods — for example, do you partner with local farms or artisans to source ingredients or supplies?
• Depending on your target audience, it may be appropriate to share your business’s political or social leanings. But, tread carefully. While your views may win you fans with those who agree with you, they could alienate those who do not.

Build on existing relationships

Informed customer service and tailored marketing will help you keep current customers happy and loyal. And, it lays the groundwork for your sales efforts. Also, be sure not to overlook the important sales tactic of simply asking current customers to buy more. Reach out with an offer for “valued customers” or a request to meet to discuss how you can address their needs.

Ready to take the next step?

Download the Small Business Guide to Move Forward to get tips on how to navigate your business during the coming months.