The Fastest Way to New Business…Your Past Customers

Got a New Business in Mind? Your Past Customers Can Help!

Hey everyone. I wanted to talk to you about something crucial for local small businesses but not used enough: your past customers. We didn’t use it before; I didn’t even know about it. But once we started doing it, it unleashed unreal opportunities for our company. And it’s something that you can do almost immediately to get more sales for your business. 

This method is as simple as having an email or phone number list of your existing customer database. You can do text messages or email marketing. So many small businesses do not have this in place for their company. They’re not reaching out to people they’ve done business with, although it’s much easier to sell to people who have already bought from your company.

Selling Products or Services to Past Customers

I don’t know the percentage, but the closing ratio is remarkably higher when you sell to past customers. Some business owners try to find a new lead — a new person that has never bought from them — and spend so much more on obtaining that lead. But if they put the time into staying top of mind with their existing customer base and getting referrals from that database, your conversion ratio goes up. 

Your cost per lead is lower because you already did an excellent job for them. So that’s the other thing: you must do a good job. Otherwise, this is not going to be a profitable venture for you.

Create an Email List

But going back, you can get this email list. Just look back at all the people you’ve done business with. If you use QuickBooks or another accounting software, make sure that you look into that. You’ll see all the emails of the customers you got in there. Similarly, you can check out Square, Stripe, or other payment processors you use and see your previous customers’ emails.

Get that database into an email marketing platform like MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, or something you can use to send out weekly or monthly emails. These emails can tell them about your business or pricing or that you’re alive.

Nurture Your Database

Send them your content once a week to teach them about your product or service or even a coupon — something enticing them to do business with you. If you have a restaurant, send them something that says, “Hey, look, don’t forget to pick up your pizza on the way home from work today.” And you can do this through text message marketing as well, and it’ll blow your business up as far as the number of people contacting you. 

It’s super important to nurture your database and have a warm database. If you’re contacting your past clients all the time, they’re hearing from you all the time. 

Will People Unsubscribe?

And one of the things that people are concerned about is, “Well, if I’m sending out emails once a week, they’re going to unsubscribe from my list, and then I’ll never be able to talk to them again.” You’re not already talking to them, so they don’t remember you. The reality is that a tiny percentage of people unsubscribe from your emails once they know you and they’ve already done business with you.

Text Marketing vs. Email Marketing

Text message marketing is even more effective than email marketing because it’s much more personal, so you should try it. But the weekly emails are fantastic if you’re creating content, as people know you’re in business and ready to help them. And the cool thing about it is that even if they don’t need your services, they remember you and can refer you to others. They’re telling other people about you, which is essential when you need a repeat customer base. 

Let’s say you have a business where someone’s doing business with you two or three times a year for your service. Once you build that email list up to 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, or more, you can stop marketing for new leads and nurture this database, providing a steady income stream.

Why Having a Warm Database Matters

It’s even more critical for a real estate agent or custom home builder to continually nurture their client database because they’re looking for referrals. After all, deals don’t come in very often. If people buy from you or get your services once every five, 10, or 20 years, you must be top of mind for referral purposes. This way, they’ll refer you to other friends and family wanting to do business with you. 

Try Video Marketing

The best way to do this type of marketing and feel like you’re not contacting and bothering people is to educate them. Create a little bit of video content, for example. Either shoot some projects or your service being done during the day and say, “Hey, look, this is what we’re doing today. We’re checking this out. We just wanted to share what we can do for you.” And then you send that to them once a week or once a month.

Use Automated Emails

You can also do an automated templated email that sends monthly pricing emails. It can say, “Hey, this is what we have available for services,” so they know you’re still in business. It’s a great way to use your existing database or make one out of your current or past customers and grow your business quickly. 

Need Help?

If you need help with website building, video marketing, or other related digital services, request a consultation with us. I hope that was helpful, and we’ll talk to you again soon.