There are many reasons people enter the realm of business. Making a living is generally chief among them. But, in our experience, many business operators are so focused on sales figures and the end result that they overlook the key activities that truly drive revenue.
These activities are generally embedded into your business and expressed in terms of operating systems, processes and procedures. That is, they’re so much a part of the everyday, that they can be overlooked.
1. Customer retention
We all understand that it costs far more to win a new customer than it does to keep an old one. But this is easier said than done. Customer retention begins with doing a great job every time. It’s about not only keeping your customers satisfied, but keeping them coming back for more.
This is too important to be left to chance. Ensure you have systems in place to enhance your customers’ experiences with your business. The easiest way to do this is to do what you say you will. Fulfil orders in a timely manner, offer a particular quality and stick to it and communicate regularly.
The process doesn’t end at the end of the sale. Consider sending a thank you letter or survey asking your customers about their experience with your business. And importantly, let them know you really want to do business with them again!
2. Increase sales leads
The sales process is an ongoing, never-ending cycle. To ensure consistent cash flow and flow of work, you should always be pursuing new leads. However, it takes time to nurture new leads and convert them into paying customers.
The process begins with a professional marketing plan that seeks to pique the interest of new leads. Having won their attention, your focus should then be on building relationships. This is the essence of all good marketing.
3. Boost your conversion rate
In marketing parlance, the conversion rate refers to your ability to convert leads to customers. You’ll need a liberal dose of patience, as this can be a time-consuming process. Sometimes, you will need to deal with prospective customers many times before they become a paying customer.
Often, this is about trust. It can take time for customers to feel a level of trust. Sometimes it is about timing, or waiting until a prospective lead has the resources or the need to do business with you.
Always, though, conversion is about knowing your customers, offering a product or service that will be of value to them and being confident in your own offerings.
4. Increase the number of transactions
One of the simplest ways to increase revenue into your business is to boost your annual number of transactions. This can either be done by winning new business or by increasing the frequency with which your existing customers buy from you.
Start by examining the true worth of each of your existing customers. How much revenue do they bring into your business each year? Each month? Is there capacity to increase the amount of business they do with you?
Sometimes it can be as simple as telling your existing customer base about the products or services you offer that they are not currently using. You may find they didn’t even know about these offerings.
Another important strategy is to communicate with your customers. Re-engage with customers you’ve not dealt with in some time, or design a communications plan to keep you front of mind with your customer base.
5. Increase the value of each transaction
Another simple revenue-generation strategy is to increase the amount of each transaction. McDonald’s does this to great effect – “Would you like fries with that?” or “Would you like to upsize?”
Up-selling and cross-selling are simple ways to add value to each individual transaction.
Increasing revenue checklist
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- Have a strategy to take care of and nurture your existing customers
- Have a marketing plan
- Convert your leads through relationship building
- Know the true value of each of your customers
- Investigate ways you can increase the average spend of your existing customers
- Up-sell and cross-sell to add to the value of each transaction
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