If you are looking to grow your customer base, here are some tips on ways you can harness your current customers to help you.
Every business needs new customers, but just as your safest and most predictable source of revenue comes from loyal customers, the easiest and most predictable way to secure new customer is by harnessing your loyal customers’ experience, knowledge, and insight.
To efficiently tackle this opportunity, I am going to first, help you increase your close rate and second, help you find new ways to find customers.
Increase Your Close Rate:
To increase the likelihood of landing your next sale, I have put together a list of prompts that will help you increase your credibility in the eyes of your prospects and give you the tools and insight you need to better navigate the sales process.
1) Understand Your Customers’ Decision Making Processes
Being able to fully understand the decision making process across your customer base will help you navigate the sales process as you sell to similar companies.
2) Secure a Referral From Multiple Customers
Asking for a referral to a potential customer is a great way to get in the door and start the conversation. Using the other tactics on this list will help you land that sale in no time!
3) Secure Testimonials From Multiple Customers
Posting an array of testimonials on your website, ideally one or more from each of your target customer segments, is a simple yet effective way to increase your credibility in the eyes of your prospect, helping you to land the sale.
4) Have Your Customers Help You Put Together Case Studies
If you can work with customers to put together a case study on how your offering positively impacted their businesses, you can stop selling your value and let your customers’ experiences do it for you. This will increase your likelihood of getting a “yes.”
5) How to Sell to Them (What They Care About)
As you go through the sales process with your clients it’s important to keep in mind how your value matches up to their needs. That being said, the reality is what they value about your product or service changes immediately after it touches their businesses. Continue to communicate with your customers to better understand specifically what it is that they value and use that information to adapt your sales pitch.
Find New Customers:
Now that you have put forth the work to increase your chances of landing your next customer, the following prompts will help you find a large pool of prospects to sell to.
6) Understand How Your Customers Found You
If you can understand the route each of your customers took to find you, you will be begin to see themes, helping you to determine which of your current marketing efforts to double down on and which to cut.
7) Figure Out What Trade Shows and Conferences Your Customers Attend
Simply by figuring out what trade shows and conferences your current customer base attends, you can figure out which you should also attend.
8) Find Out What Trade Associations Your Customers Belong To
Depending on the type of companies you target, they may be a part of several trade associations. Having this knowledge will help you to prospect easier, seeing as how most trade associations list their memberships right on their websites and host monthly events.
9) Ask Your Customers What Networking Events They Attend
Ask for events that are less industry specific, such as events sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club. This networking exercise will connect you with fellow go-getters and expose you to a new network full of potential customers.
10) Get Your Customers To Tell You What Industry Publications They Read
If you know what they are reading, the chances are high that their competition (your prospects) are reading them too. You might want to try to write an article for this publication, or partner with them to sponsor an event.
11) Quiz Your Customers On What industry Websites They Visit
Having this insight will help you brainstorm ways you can partner with each website (affiliate deal, advertising, guest post) in an effort to generate leads for your organization.
BONUS:
Ask Your Customers What They Would Search For On Google To Try & Find You
This assignment will give you great insight into how your customers view your company and your product; insights that will be used to run a more effective Google Adwords campaign or help you to determine what content you need to create so prospects can find you organically.
This is a guest post by William Griggs, a startup marketing guru who helps startups craft and implement their go-to-market and user acquisition strategies. You can find more about him at TheStartupSlingshot.com, or follow him on Twitter @tssupdates.
