How To Increase Revenue In Down Market With Email
As business owners, we often find ourselves wondering, for a better word than daydreaming about what can be done to increase sales.
Most business owners are way past the wondering stage and onto the "I'm worried and have no clue what to do!" - anxiety aspect.
To months ago I was having lunch with a customer of mine who runs a very successful (2007 successful) golf cart dealership and repair facility.
Ten minutes into our lunch he said "You know Vanja, things just are not the way they used to be.
My sales are down, my foot traffic is slim and I'm don't know when it's gonna change.
People are not buying carts like they used to! This sounded funny but true.
Funny because we live in Palm Springs, California and there are more golf courses here sand.
In his case, no matter the economy, consumers that play golf are usually retired and have a pretty nest egg.
But true because even these consumers are not buying like they used to.
Consumer buying patterns have drastically changed in the last 18 months.
They want MORE VALUE than ever before, but unfortunately business owners are WASTING more time worrying than adjusting to their buying patterns.
I smiled at him as he replied with a puzzled look.
Without trying to educate him on why and how, I asked him to list 10 things he had changed about the value of his products and services in the last few months.
Surprisingly he came up with a few good ones.
I asked him how they worked, he replied "They didn't" To make a long story short, they didn't work because he did not apply them correctly.
We rolled up our sleeves and came up with a plan.
Last Thursday, I saw one of his delivery trucks pull up in front of my office.
I came out to look and there he was, unloading a new golf cart..
...
for me.
Shocked, I asked him what's this.
He said this is your commission for all they revenue you have helped me earn in the last two months.
He is a very generous customer, glad to say more than friend than customer but what we did was so simple and inexpensive, many would not believe.
I had his accounting department pull a list of all customer he dealt with in the last 12 months.
We developed an email marketing campaign to 70% of those with a very strong, value based message.
The results were astonishing.
This advertising ended up costing him around $100.
00 for two months and in brought in a little over $37,000 in revenue.
The golden goose in your back yard are your current customers.
They already know you and most likely trust you.
Now, more than ever - they are not looking to be sold but still will buy if you approach them correctly.
From this experience, I have had many of my customers take on email advertising to they current customers and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them generated revenue.
After a week of research, looking for the best email marketing software, I found one that has worked wonders for us.
It is easy to use, develop, affordable (around $20.
00 mo.
) and track results, even for the "not so web savvy.
" My customers are now running their own campaigns but do call once in a while when they need to come up with a fresh message.
Most business owners are way past the wondering stage and onto the "I'm worried and have no clue what to do!" - anxiety aspect.
To months ago I was having lunch with a customer of mine who runs a very successful (2007 successful) golf cart dealership and repair facility.
Ten minutes into our lunch he said "You know Vanja, things just are not the way they used to be.
My sales are down, my foot traffic is slim and I'm don't know when it's gonna change.
People are not buying carts like they used to! This sounded funny but true.
Funny because we live in Palm Springs, California and there are more golf courses here sand.
In his case, no matter the economy, consumers that play golf are usually retired and have a pretty nest egg.
But true because even these consumers are not buying like they used to.
Consumer buying patterns have drastically changed in the last 18 months.
They want MORE VALUE than ever before, but unfortunately business owners are WASTING more time worrying than adjusting to their buying patterns.
I smiled at him as he replied with a puzzled look.
Without trying to educate him on why and how, I asked him to list 10 things he had changed about the value of his products and services in the last few months.
Surprisingly he came up with a few good ones.
I asked him how they worked, he replied "They didn't" To make a long story short, they didn't work because he did not apply them correctly.
We rolled up our sleeves and came up with a plan.
Last Thursday, I saw one of his delivery trucks pull up in front of my office.
I came out to look and there he was, unloading a new golf cart..
...
for me.
Shocked, I asked him what's this.
He said this is your commission for all they revenue you have helped me earn in the last two months.
He is a very generous customer, glad to say more than friend than customer but what we did was so simple and inexpensive, many would not believe.
I had his accounting department pull a list of all customer he dealt with in the last 12 months.
We developed an email marketing campaign to 70% of those with a very strong, value based message.
The results were astonishing.
This advertising ended up costing him around $100.
00 for two months and in brought in a little over $37,000 in revenue.
The golden goose in your back yard are your current customers.
They already know you and most likely trust you.
Now, more than ever - they are not looking to be sold but still will buy if you approach them correctly.
From this experience, I have had many of my customers take on email advertising to they current customers and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them generated revenue.
After a week of research, looking for the best email marketing software, I found one that has worked wonders for us.
It is easy to use, develop, affordable (around $20.
00 mo.
) and track results, even for the "not so web savvy.
" My customers are now running their own campaigns but do call once in a while when they need to come up with a fresh message.