Is your Business In The Follow Up Business - To Help Increase Sales?
Every Business at some point in their life cycle will be asking itself " How Do You Increase Sales?" . Often for senior managers in most companies this is a question that is constantly on their mind. For a lot of companies they simply copy the same things that other companies in their sector are doing. The internet has presented a massive opportunity for businesses of any size to reach millions of potential customers . The question is - "is your business maximising this opportunity?"
As well as the standard ways of developing sales that most businesses use - the business website has become a very important element of the process of being able to increase sales in a company. It is however really important that you have a clear objective for your website. Most companies never test anything pertaining to their website. They simply design the site and then forget about it. In most cases their website is just a glorified ebrochure and contributes very little to help increase sales for the company. As a business owner you need to understand why and how customers find your business. This also applies to your website. Do you know what keywords they are using to find your website when they do a search on Google? Do you know what niche search terms that have low competition in your sector that you could use to rank for so that your business appears on page 1 of Google? Do you know what tools - some Free - like Google Keyword Tool - that you can use to research to find profitable niches to rank for in your sector?
The other area that you can look at is your follow up process. When you think about it 20% of the people visiting your site may either pick up the phone and call you for further information or they may fill in an online form on your site for more information. The remaining 80% that did not engage simply disappear. What if you could put in place a system that enticed some of the 80% to engage with your business. They may not be ready to buy right now but if you had a good follow up system that identified these people and then followed them up with emails, phone calls or letters/ postcards - educating them about your business so that when they are ready to buy it is your business that they would approach. Imagine how much you could improve your revenue just by doing this.
What about your existing customers? These are people that have already done business with you, There are 2 things that you can do. First you need to wow them as a new customer. This can be through a series of emails and customer calls as well as satisfaction surveys. The satisfaction survey is very important as it gives you the opportunity to ask for the next thing that will also help you increase sales - Referrals
What about those prospects that actually engage with your company . They may have actually received a proposal / quote from you but failed to buy. Again this group, for most businesses, end up in a black hole. By putting in place a well thought out follow up sequence that nurtures them - sometimes over a long period of time - you will find that some of these prospects will ultimately become customers
As well as the standard ways of developing sales that most businesses use - the business website has become a very important element of the process of being able to increase sales in a company. It is however really important that you have a clear objective for your website. Most companies never test anything pertaining to their website. They simply design the site and then forget about it. In most cases their website is just a glorified ebrochure and contributes very little to help increase sales for the company. As a business owner you need to understand why and how customers find your business. This also applies to your website. Do you know what keywords they are using to find your website when they do a search on Google? Do you know what niche search terms that have low competition in your sector that you could use to rank for so that your business appears on page 1 of Google? Do you know what tools - some Free - like Google Keyword Tool - that you can use to research to find profitable niches to rank for in your sector?
The other area that you can look at is your follow up process. When you think about it 20% of the people visiting your site may either pick up the phone and call you for further information or they may fill in an online form on your site for more information. The remaining 80% that did not engage simply disappear. What if you could put in place a system that enticed some of the 80% to engage with your business. They may not be ready to buy right now but if you had a good follow up system that identified these people and then followed them up with emails, phone calls or letters/ postcards - educating them about your business so that when they are ready to buy it is your business that they would approach. Imagine how much you could improve your revenue just by doing this.
What about your existing customers? These are people that have already done business with you, There are 2 things that you can do. First you need to wow them as a new customer. This can be through a series of emails and customer calls as well as satisfaction surveys. The satisfaction survey is very important as it gives you the opportunity to ask for the next thing that will also help you increase sales - Referrals
What about those prospects that actually engage with your company . They may have actually received a proposal / quote from you but failed to buy. Again this group, for most businesses, end up in a black hole. By putting in place a well thought out follow up sequence that nurtures them - sometimes over a long period of time - you will find that some of these prospects will ultimately become customers
About the Author:
You can discover more about Tracey Hamilton and how she is helping businesses look at How do you increase sales, in addition you can grab a Free copy of The Customer Life Cycle guide here Increase Sales
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