How do you sell more to existing customers?

If your business is like 99% of the known world’s businesses you are living with the 80/20 rule.  That is, 80% of your revenue (and profit) comes from the sales of 20% of your products (goods and services).  And chances are a lot of those other 80% of your products have high margins.  Like it or not, that’s just the way it is.  You will never have an even distribution where each product “carries its own weight”.

But, that doesn’t mean you don’t try to change the 80/20 mix.  After all, IT COSTS LESS TO SELL MORE TO AN EXISTING CUSTOMER, THAN IT DOES TO FIND A NEW ONE.  So, how do you sell more to your current customers?  They are already your customers, you probably know a lot of them, and they know your business.  Right?   This is a dangerous assumption, and if you are making it not only are you missing a huge growth opportunity, but you’re mix is probably more like 90/10 (90% of your revenue is coming from 10% of your products).

So, how do you sell more to an existing customer?  Conceptually it is quite simple.  There are three easy steps.

1. Let them know what your other products are, those in the 80% category.
2. Make a compelling offer.  This can take many forms such as a simple sale price, or a bundled offer.  But it should be compelling.  After all, if your customer is already there making a purchase, you want to get to the next step.
3. Increase the value of the transaction.  It does not cost you any more to charge a higher amount for an additional sale.  You’re employees are already spending time helping them and handling the transaction so your only additional cost is the cost of the product itself.

Let’s talk about number 1, the beginning of the process – Let them know what your other products are.  How do you do this?  You may have tried lots of ways to do this, and there are many choices.  But I have found the best method – DIGITAL MENU BOARDS.

A Digital Menu Board is an HD flat screen TV that is run by a computer.  It has so many advantages over any other POS (point of sale) method that they have become the best POS systems on the planet.  Consider all that they have to offer.

• HD motion content includes videos and image rich graphics.
• TV screens with motion draw your eye to them.  Think about the last time you went to a restaurant or bar.  You didn’t go to watch TV, but you find yourself constantly looking up at the screens.
• Content can be changed easily and frequently.
• Content can be controlled by your business thus putting control in your hands.
• Your business will be seen as more high-tech, more relevant, and up to date.  This can be important, especially if your clientele is under 30.
• A loop on the TV offers high repetition which is very important.  In the advertising world a message has to be seen as many as 15-20 times before it begins to generate awareness by the viewer.
• And best of all – LOW COST.  A Digital Menu Board will likely cost you less for an entire year than one week of TV or radio advertising.

In summary, as you consider your marketing expenditures you should allocate resources to both external marketing (finding new customers), and internal marketing (selling more to existing customers).  Which works best for you is dependent on many factors, but one factor is for sure – that is that the internal marketing will cost you less, and has a greater chance of a short term ROI.  With the additional money you generate from internal marketing, you will be able to afford more external marketing.