We all know just how important a steady income is to maintain and build our business. As business owners we are constantly looking for ways to improve our revenues. More often than not, this tends to come in the form of altering our avatar or adding an additional marketing niche. While I am all for growing your business and increasing what you have to offer, I think it is imperative that when we grow we do so to meet our target demographics needs. Too often I find that my clients in my online coaching program are so consumed with hitting more people that they become deaf to the cries of their dream avatar. One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is spreading themselves too thin.
Grow With Your Client’s Needs
Now, this by no means is my way of saying you shouldn’t focus on new client acquisition. New client acquisition can make or break any business. But I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you how pivotal it is for your businesses survival and your bottom line to focus the majority of your efforts on client retention. Otherwise you will have spent all that time building these deep and meaningful connections only to check out once you reached the finish line. One of the hardest things in business is not grabbing someone’s initial attention. It’s keeping that attention! Anyone can show up with something shiny and new and distract their target demographic. It is the company or product that has them constantly asking for more that is successful.
What Your Client’s Want
So, by all means build your business and expand your interests. That is all part of growing. But make sure you are doing it the right way. What does that look like you ask? To start with you listen to your current clients growing needs and grow with them. Most of us offer a product or service that fills more than one of our clients needs. That’s a good thing, everybody loves a product that serves more than one need. With that in mind you want to make sure that you are not overwhelming your clients by listing off all the different things you offer. Everyone of your clients comes into your life at different stages of their lives. As such, just like with the Facebook groups you will want to create an experience for them in which they can grow at their own pace.
Crawl Before You Run
In my online program I take my clients through a step by step approach on creating ONE experience for their dream client. That is because I know first hand how overwhelming it can be to build out 12 different programs all at once. The painful reality is that this spray and pray method doesn’t work right out of the gate. Your job is to focus on one target when you are first learning the process. Once you have the steps down you listen to your target demographic because you have built up your rapport with them they WILL tell you EXACTLY what they need! By sticking to that one avatar you know that if one client is asking for something the majority of them need the same thing. If you are unsure you can always ask them (Facebook groups come in handy) and find out how great the need really is.
It’s All About Service!
One of the biggest benefits to growing your business this way is that you already have a string of customers for the product or service and you don’t have to start from scratch! When you take into account that you have a 5-20% chance of selling to a new client versus a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing client. Yet the average customer retention rate is 25-30% and 50% retention is the sign of a good retention. So what makes your clients leave? Turns out the largest portion of this group leave due to poor customer service. In fact, an average of 82% of customers stated their reason for leaving a company was due to poor service. While 61% of customers confessed that if a business was not willing to grow to meet their needs they would go to a competitor who would grow with them.
Where It Pays To Invest
Not only is it significantly faster to convert an existing client on a sale it is also dramatically more budget friendly. 70% of companies say it is cheaper to retain a client than it is to acquire a new one. That doesn’t include all of the revenue your loyal clients bring in either. By increasing your business’s client retention rate by 5% you can increase your profits by 75%! How, you ask? Engaged and active clients purchase 90% more frequently and even spend on average 60% more per transaction. To top it all off, happy clients breed new clients for free! On average 56% of new business comes from word of mouth referrals. Clearly, it pays to invest in customer retention. So, how can you improve your customer retention?
Ways To Increase Retention
Invest in your customer service! Remember that 82% of customers leave due to poor service. Speeding up your response time and if a client’s experience isn’t ideal do more than compensate them. 74% of clients are more likely to stay with a company after an issue when they’re compensated and the company apologies. The goal is always to under promise and over deliver, remember success stories breed new clients! People like to feel like they are part of something bigger. Offer you clients that ability by donating a portion of the proceeds to charity or creating a place where their voices are heard and valued. Facebook groups can be a great place to do this and to host live webinars. Webinars can increase brand awareness by 84%, lead generation by 83%, engagement by 81% (remember clients are 90% more likely to buy when engaged), 75% sales, and 69% retention rates.
Build Your Kingdom
One of the best ways to ensure client engagement is through email. This is the perfect portion of your business to automate. By interacting with your clients a minimum of 10 times a year you can increase your profits by 300%! The best part is the versatility of the engagements you can educate your clients and increase brand awareness by 85%. You can also send out email surveys and determine your clients needs or current satisfaction level. Another great option is to send out links to freebie offers or coupons. 81% of motivation to work with you is derived by the clients feeling of appreciation. One of my favorite options is with a monthly newsletter. Whatever you do make sure you are constantly providing your clients with value. Content is King and customer retention is the Queen. Everyone knows the secret to a happy kingdom is a happy Queen!
Are You Ready To Be An Influencer?
There are tons of ways to increase your exposure online and on the air. Don’t believe me? Be sure to subscribe to my next article that will break down even more ways to extend your reach. If you are a health and wellness expert looking for help to become the next major influencer in your field, I would love to hear from you. I offer an online course that can help you do just that. For more information, book a one-on-one consultation call with me. If you are the best at what you do and no one knows you exist, how many people can you help?
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