Many businesses believe the best way to increase revenue is to attract new buyers. A much easier, and perhaps more effective, tactic is to focus on existing customers who already trust you and are familiar with your product or service. These are seven effective ways to increase sales revenue from the existing customer base.
Pricing Strategy
Raising your prices is an assured way to boost revenue. You just need to be careful that any increase does not negatively impact existing customer buying practices. Make the increase small or incremental. If your price has been the same for many years, then customers will likely understand the need to raise it. Position the increase in a positive light by educating customers about the value and advantages that your products provide in comparison with competitors.
Marketing
Maintain steady contact with customers to keep them choosing your products over competitors. Existing customers require a different marketing approach than prospects. Use the valuable information you collect on their likes and dislikes for soft marketing campaigns. Employ a variety of communication tools, like email, phone, newsletter and social media to provide buying suggestions and recommend solutions. Do not overwhelm customers with too many pitches. A single concise, prudent and targeted sales email is far more effective than multiple generic message blasts. Automated marketing tools can help manage customer relationships and personalize messages.
Upsell and Cross-sell
Existing customers are a valuable target for upselling. This can be profitable since they are already familiar with your company and products, so there is no need for costly and time-consuming extensive new buyer introductory marketing. Make it a routine procedure to inform customers about newer models and higher-end products. You can also increase revenue by convincing them to buy other related or complementary products. The more invested a customer is with your business the more likely they will continue purchasing from you.
Bundle
Create a package of complementary products that go well together. This may encourage customers to spend more than they would have otherwise. You can market the bundle as a deal, offering it for slightly less than the combined cost of the individual items. While it may seem like this is counterintuitive for increasing revenue, the likelihood that you will sell more items in total makes it a profitable revenue generator.
Incentives
Providing incentives can also encourage more buying from existing customers. For example, you can offer a free product after a certain number of purchases. Another option is to provide discounts or rebates for high-volume customers. Rebates are effective because they attract additional sales and generally have a redemption rate between five and 80 percent. A loyalty program is also an effective way to sell more to existing customers, reward them for their support and at the same time make them feel appreciated.
Discern Bad Customers
One of the easiest, but most overlooked ways to increase revenue is to recognize the good and bad customers. Concentrate your efforts for sales on the former. Customers who are demanding, always looking for the lowest cost option or never satisfied are unprofitable. Choose to stop spending time and energy on the individuals who require inordinate resources and buy infrequently or spend relatively little.
Special Events
Customers like to feel special and appreciated. Hold special events to thank them for their business. A sneak preview or invitation-only gathering can provide an opportunity to introduce customers to new product offerings. Customers may be more willing to buy something if they believe it is an exclusive first purchase option. You can also use these events to find out more about what works well with your products, where there might be problems or even unique ways that customers use items.
There are many ways for businesses to increase revenue. These tips focus on tactics for generating more sales volume from existing customers. Some might conclude that this is more cost-effective than prospecting for new buyers.
