If you have ever purchased anything online from a website you are likely familiar with the title of this blog post. Very often when you add an item to your “shopping cart” and “checkout” you are prompted to purchase other items. The premise being other customers who bought the same item also purchased these other suggested items. Likely after the purchase you also have been bombarded, via email, regularly informing you of the company’s latest promotions. While these tactics may be irritating, they work! Whether you are a large or small business, selling in person or online, it is this practice that will add incremental sales and boost your bottom line in lean economic times. It’s Sales 101; sell more to your existing customers! But, not just any customers, your most profitable and repeat ones. For most businesses, core customers comprise 20% of their customer base but represent 80% of their profits.
Conventional wisdom says it costs six times more for a business to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing customer. My personal experience certainly supports this statistic! Why then do we pursue new accounts with vigor while often neglecting or failing to recognize significant opportunities with existing customers? Maybe it is the thrill of the chase, (no pun intended) maybe we feel like there is more accomplishment in this endeavor. Regardless the reason, it happens everyday, in every business!
In my recent visits with our customers there has been one obvious, dominant and overwhelming theme. Our customers’ core businesses are down. Overhead Door distributorships are suffering from the decline in construction. They are no longer “covered up” with work installing rolling steel or sectional overhead doors. One visit to a large Material Handling dealer revealed that forklift sales are down by 50%. The decline in construction has forced a shift to service and repair. With this shift it is important that we expand our and our customer’s horizons. As a manufacturer it is important that we make our distributor base aware of the opportunity for them to sell more Chase products that compliment what they already do. For many it is simply a matter of taking the focus off of the exterior or perimeter of the building, to a shift inside to look for repair and replacement opportunities. I have also noticed people have more, or are willing to give you more time, time that they did not have during better economic times! They are looking for opportunities to replace lost sales!
Do you know who your profitable customers are? Do you know why they buy from you? Do you understand their business well enough to know what challenges they are facing in our current economic situation? Are these customers fully aware of Chase Doors product portfolio? If you have satisfied these customers on an ongoing basis you have established yourself, your product and your company as a credible resource. Why wouldn’t these customers listen to you? We must “mine” our most profitable and repeat customer’s sales data and use this data to create a customized sales approach that results in increased sales without forcing these customers to re-invent themselves.
While we cannot control the economy, good or bad, we can certainly control our response to difficult economic times. By increasing our focus on our existing, profitable customers we broaden our opportunities for increased sales. Chase Doors is in a unique position to accomplish this. We are a “one stop specialty door shop”. Regardless the industry our customers serve, we have a complimentary product for them to market and sell to their existing and profitable customers. Do your best customers know everything you have to offer them?