13. The Easiest Sales You’re Not Making

When did you last contact your existing customers? 

Not to answer a question or chase a payment.
 Actually contact them. Tell them something new. Remind them you exist. Let them know what else you do. 

Because if the answer is “not for ages”… there’s money sitting there that could already be yours. 

In this episode, Claire talks about why so many business owners focus on finding new customers, while completely overlooking the people who have already bought from them. 

You’ll hear a simple example of a skincare business with lots of happy customers… who never came back, not because they didn’t like the products, but because nobody gave them a reason to. 

Inside this episode, you’ll see how to: 

•  Make more sales without finding new customers 
•  Stay in your customers’ world without being annoying 
•  Use simple emails to remind people what you do 
•  Help your customers discover more of what you offer 

Because the easiest sale you will ever make is to someone who has already bought from you.
 
Sometimes, you just need to get back in touch.

Before we get into today's episode - my Big Girl Knickers Business Bootcamp is back and starting Monday 20th April. Four weeks of accountability, support and action to get your business properly back on track. The Facebook group is open now, payment plans are available, and if you're feeling flat - this is exactly what you need. Head to www.biggirlknickers.com to join us.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Welcome to the Girls Mean Business Podcast, where we share business and marketing tips, advice and trade secrets to help you raise your game and build your brilliant business. Get more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Here to show you how.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Hello, it's Claire from the Girls Meme Business, and today I want to ask you a question. Which is, when did you last contact your existing customers? I don't mean to chase them for payment or answer a query, I mean actually contact them, like tell them about something new or remind them that you exist, or even better, let them know what else you do because they might not know everything else that you do, they've just bought one or two things from you. So if the answer to when did you last contact your existing customers is not for ages or never, then you have money sitting there that could be yours. Because I think what happens is we've got this scramble to find new customers all the time, and we forget that we've got people who've already bought from us. And those people who've already bought from us already know us, like us, trust us, they've already had the experience of spending money with us and deciding it was worth it. They've already done all of that, so that's a massive head start. All that work that we have to do with new people, where we have to build trust and overcome doubt and convince them to take a chance. We don't have to do any of that with somebody who's already bought and was happy. They just need to know what else you've got. And I bet they don't know everything that you do. And I remember a client a few years ago who ran a lovely little skincare business. She'd been going for a couple of years, she had quite a lot of regular customers, and she was always focused on bringing in new customers, new people. She was spending money on ads, she was going to markets, she was doing social media, all of it. And when we looked at her numbers, she had lots of customers who'd bought her face cream but never bought her facial oil or her skin scrubs or anything else. She had loads of customers who'd bought one product and they hadn't come back because nobody had ever given them a reason to. She wasn't doing anything to keep in touch with people once they'd ordered. So they bought once and then just got on with their lives. And it wasn't because they didn't like what they bought, and they might even come back and buy that thing again when they ran out of it, but they didn't know what else she did and they've probably forgotten about her. You know that saying out of sight is out of mind? Well, it's real and it's not personal. People are busy, just think about your own life. We're busy, we're not sitting there thinking about somebody else's business, we've got our own stuff going on, and that's what our customers are like. So your job is to stay in their world. Not being annoying, but just be there consistently, and there are really easy ways to do this. So an email list is the obvious one. Now I'm a massive fan of newsletters, and if people have bought from you, then you've got their email address. You're allowed to contact them unless they opt out. So you can send monthly newsletters where you update everybody on your customer list and your subscriber list with what's new, what's coming up, seasonal offers. You can also email them directly anytime you want. So your best 20 customers, you could go back and say, I'm not sure if you know, but I do this as well. And because you've bought this face cream, I think this facial oil and um facial scrub bundle could be brilliant for you and your skin. So you could contact them about a new product or a seasonal offer again or a useful tip or anything that gives them a reason to think about you again. Social media works too, but you are at the mercy of the algorithm, and you cannot guarantee that somebody's going to see your stuff at the right time or indeed ever, because we never know when Facebook or Instagram is going to show our account to the right people. So social media is fine and it's good for just putting the foundations in place. So if somebody finds you on there, then you are there and you're active. But somebody might follow you for two years and barely see anything that you post. Whereas email lands in their inbox and then they decide whether to open it. That's a much better approach. And when you do contact them, think about what else they might need. So if somebody buys your jam, do they know that you also sell chutney? If somebody books a massage, do they know that you also offer a monthly membership? If somebody orders a birthday cake, do they know that you do celebration bakes for any occasion, including brownies? You know? Do all of your existing customers know about everything you do? Do they? I'd be really surprised if they did. Most people assume that if their customers know about one thing, then they know about everything and they don't. I mean they might have had a look around your website or they might have bought because they just saw one thing and they were looking for one thing. They probably don't know half of what you do. So before you spend another penny on advertising or another hour trying to get new people into your business who've never heard of you, start here. You know, spend some time with the people who already love what you do. Write them an email, tell them what's new, ask them how they're getting on with what they bought. If I bought something, skin cream, and then the person who created it said, I know you bought this Rosacea cream, I just want to know how you're getting on with it. Has it worked for you? That would feel like great customer care, not some spammy kind of campaign. That feels like I'm being looked after. Your customers will love it. And the easiest sale you'll ever make is to somebody who's already bought from you. All you have to do is just get in touch. Alright, you can do that. See you next time. Lots of love, bye for now. That's it from the Girls Mean Business Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Join us for even more fab tips, advice, interviews, and trade secrets to help you get more confidence, more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com for slash the girls mean business and check out our website at www.thegirlsmean business.com. See you next time.