There is a very common pitfall that small business owners can encounter when business starts to take off and they’re doing well. They focus less on customer acquisition in favour of customer retention. Understandable? Yes. Wise? Possibly not.
Striking the right balance between delivering client work today and securing future sales is crucial in order to grow your business. But it’s not always easy.
Maintaining Customer Acquisition Momentum
An analogy we like to use is that of a part-filled bath. Think of your business as a bath, with the plug open, and taps running. If you have more water going down the plughole than you have water going in then your business will shrink. To grow, there always has be more water flowing in through the taps than flowing down the plughole.
It’s easier said than done though. It can be so difficult to prioritise your customer acquisition strategy and sourcing possible future leads when the current demands of existing projects and existing clients are consuming your every moment. Things can change very quickly in the small business world. For some small businesses the addition or subtraction of just one or two clients can make or break them. Walking the thin line of managing new customers vs existing customers is a delicate business.
Depending on the kind of business you run you may see seasonal variations in sales or demand for services. Continuing to prioritise the growth of your business during even the busiest of times can insure you against the almost inevitable ebb and flow of small business life. No one can ensure they never lose a client but what you can do is make sure you have several potential clients ready to step into their shoes.
Ways To Keep Focussed On Marketing And Sales
There are several ways you can keep a focus on marketing and sales activities even during those busy times. Here are some of our suggestions:
- Having good systems, such as CRM systems, in place – used diligently, this will ensure you have all the details you need about current, future and past clients at your fingertips. Keeping track of exactly where you are in the sales process with every single lead makes customer acquisition and retention more efficient.
- Conversion rate – measure what percentage of leads you manage to convert into paying customers.
- Repeat business – know how many customers you retain, for how long, and lose.
- Delegation – Consider employing someone to make your life easier such as a Virtual Assistant. The jobs that they can do can take a huge amount of workload away from you on a daily basis. Freeing you up to do other things.
- Planning – Sounds like an obvious one but keeping your calendar timings clear and transparent can show you where additional meetings can be slotted in at a moments notice. Allowing for travel time in your calendar means you should be able to easily plan every hour of your working day.
- Marketing – If you did some marketing activities in the early days of your business that worked well for you why not revisit that but, perhaps, on a smaller scale?
- Financial Plan – Think carefully about where you want your business to be financially in five years time and do the maths – how many customers do you need to have yearly to make that happen?
All of the above can feel hugely daunting when you already have more pressure in your life than you’re comfortable with. We Grow Businesses can help. We can take the lead on all of the above to allow you time to focus on your customer acquisition and retention. Allow us to give you some much-needed breathing space. Contact us to arrange a free, absolutely no-obligation, coffee to discuss your business and how we can help you grow. https://wegrowbusinesses.co.uk/services/free-growth-health-check/
