Repeat and Referral Customers
There is a great principle of marketing that tells business owners that the majority of clients will be either repeat clients or referred clients. This is a wonderful idea, but many owners believe an inaccurate version of this theory. They believe that these repeat or referred clients will come to them without any effort. This is false; effort is required, but the rewards are well worth it.
Let us examine the Golden Rule of Marketing: Business from repeat customers and referral clients can be greatly increased if you market to the clients you already have.
We all know that finding new clients is the hardest and most expensive part of business, so why not take advantage of the work you’ve already done? By marketing to the clients you already have, your efforts will reap many more rewards.
The key to marketing to current clients is communication. The goal is called “top of mind awareness,” meaning that your clients will think of you first. Clients have to be reminded of the great work your shop did; if you don’t remind them, they will take their business elsewhere.
Imagine this: You are walking the dog in the park, and you run into a client for whom you completed a brake job. As the two of you catch up, your client mentions that he recently bought tires and struts for his car. Shocked, you ask, “Why didn’t you come to us?” The typical answer is “I didn’t know you did that kind of work.”
How would this situation have played out differently if you had adjusted your marketing plan to include your own clients? Your marketing and communication plan should frequently educate or remind clients of all the services you perform. Never assume that your previous clients know all the services you can do for them. Educate your clients and benefit from their knowledge.
Marketing is just one of the many topics that we cover as part of our Guerrilla Shop Management training program. Other topics include Business Planning, Managing Team Labor, Financial Operations, and Staffing/Recruiting.
Want to learn more? Give us a call at 800-755-0988 or click here. Don’t miss out – Guerrilla Shop Management begins April 16th. Enroll today!
