Marketing Ideas

Astound Your Customers

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

90% of repeat business for most companies comes from referrals and endorsements from existing customers. It goes without saying then, that you should continue to impress your customers long after the sale.

If you fall out of contact with a customer and they subsequently become unhappy, more often than not they will simply diasappear without even complaining. You'll not even get a chance to put things right.

Research tells us that a happy customer tells two or three pe [...]

Thanks Very Much

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The words 'Thank You' said in the right manner can make a huge difference in getting customers to return to you to but more in the future. Simply uttering the words isn't enough, but when said with real meaning and a genuine heartfelt gesture the effect can be phenomenal.

A thank you can be relayed in a number of ways:A thank you at the time of purchase.A hand-written cardCall them to thank them and make sure they are happy with their purchaseDo this as a matter of cours [...]

Step Out of the Comfort Zone

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

We all have competitors and think we can do it better than anyone else. That's all well and good but what do your potential customers think when they're looking for a service or product that you provide.

They may be looking in a classified ads section of a newspaper or the Yellow Pages or Yell.com for example, and there are literally dozens of suppliers to choose from.

What is the one thing that is going to make you stand out from the crowd?

Lowest Price is certainly n [...]

Keep In Touch

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Keep in Regular Contact With Customers and Prospects.

It is essential that you keep in touch with your customers and prospects:

If they are customers, you'll want to keep them for as long as possible.You'll also want to try to up-sell or cross-sell to them at some point or encourage repeat sales to get more profit from that customerFor your prospects and customers, just because they aren't interested in buying your product or service today, doesn’t mean they aren’t [...]

Monitor Your Advertising Closely

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Never ever run any advertisement without monitoring the response.

If your Ad doesn’t sell your products on the first round, get rid of it. 99% of advertising agencies, newspaper and radio reps hate the idea of monitoring. They usually recommend that “Repetition is needed to gain success!!”. The reason they would say that is because they are selling advertising space. So, the more advertising space You Buy - the less they need to sell to me [...]

Using Free Samples

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

If you need to get new customers, by far the best and most cost-effective way is to offer a free sample of your product or service.

You can use the money you would have spent on advertising and give it to your best prospective customers in the form of a sample or trial of your product or service. Thus, a restaurant can offer a Free Main Course or a money-off voucher. A clothing shop can offer a free shirt. A new car retailer can offer a free dinner with [...]

Marketing to Everyone

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

You can't hope to market your products or services to everyone, even if you think everyone needs them.

Doing this limits your potential by not focusing on select groups of people or businesses. These specific groups are called "niches."

By focusing on one or more niches you're able to connect with these people at a level they'll understand and consequently you gain more business.

Certain groups of people or businesses are more likely to want and need your produ [...]

Sell to Existing Customers

dave.carr@quant.org.uk — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

It's FIVE times easier to sell something else to your existing customers than to get a new customer.

The easiest way to sell something else to your existing customers is by picking up the phone, sending them an email or a letter. Those that have bought from you before are a relative “hot buyers” list. Simply ask them to buy something else. It doesn’t have to be your product either. You can offer them someone elses products. Thus, an accoun [...]