The Amazing Secret Of Getting New Customers For Your Business

 The Amazing Secret Of

Getting New Customers
For Your Business

How To Make Powerful Offers That Instantly Attract
New Customers To Your Business

I’ll show you how to go about getting new customers for any business. Actually, getting new customers is easy – if you know how. Most people in business do it the hard way. I’ll show you the easy way….and it’s also the cheapest way to get all the customers you want.

To do this I need to explain what’s known as the ‘Lifetime Value’ of a customer to you. If you understand the ‘Lifetime Value’ of your customer you can get new customers almost as if by magic. It’s the ‘Marketing Edge’ that can help your profits skyrocket and get lots of new customers coming through your door.

No matter how large or small your business, no matter what product or service you sell, you must first calculate the ‘Lifetime Value’ of your customer. Once you know it, you can decide exactly what you can afford to spend to bring in a new customer – and the best way to go about it.

In a nutshell the ‘Lifetime Value’ of a customer is …

The average purchase value, multiplied by the number of times they buy
from you in a year, multiplied by the number of years they remain your customer.

For example: You own a restaurant and your regular customer spends $30 each time they visit you, of which $20 is profit. Let’s say they come to eat 12 times per year and stay with you for two years on average.

This makes your regular customer worth $20 x 12 x 2 = $480 in profit to your business. (See below for a form to help you calculate this for your business.)

You can use the same method to calculate the ‘Lifetime Value’ of a customer for a hairdresser, a supermarket, a car service centre, an accountant, a doctor, clothing and shoe stores … In fact, it works the same for any business.

You can apply this formula even if you’re selling a high value item such as refrigerators, cars, machinery, office furniture or other ‘one off’ items. Even though it may be years before another purchase of the same item by your customer, you may sell them something else. Or you may have service contracts, other add-ons and customer referrals. They all add up to extra sales and profits over a period of time. Even if you just approximate the extra sales, you will start to get some idea of what every customer is really worth to your business.

And once you know this …

… you’ll know what you can afford to spend in order to get new customers.

Most business promotions consist of ads in the newspapers and magazines, beautiful brochures and outdoor signs. They do mail-outs telling the world about their wonderful products, service and themselves and they usually offer an ‘opening special’ discount.  Something weak, like 10% or 15% off or $10 discount every time you spend $100.  However, unless you have some marvellous contraption that everybody wants, such as the only water stand on the edge of the Sahara Desert, this creates about as much excitement as a dead jellyfish.

Oh, sure. It will increase your business. However, it will expand v-e-r-y   s-l-o-w-l-y. In the meantime, the rent has to be paid, you have to live, and the ads are costing you a fortune. In a year or two or three you may actually have a business. Or YOU ARE BROKE.

But you, my faithful subscriber, are much smarter than that, aren’t you? You know there has to be a better way. Well, there is! And I’m going to tell you all about it.

You are about to learn how to create a situation resembling
shark-feeding frenzy in your place of business.

A friend of mine built a business starting from zero using this approach. He spent $1 million building three tennis courts, swimming pools, games room and barbecue facilities in the middle of Sydney. The place was magnificent. There was one trouble: He had no customers.

So this is what he did. For one month he advertised in the local newspapers: Free Tennis Lessons, Free Court Hire, Free Barbecues and Swimming Pool Parties. And guess what happened? That’s right! The place was packed out from 7 am till 10 pm every day that month. He gave away lots of tennis lessons, sausages and court hire. It cost him a few thousand dollars. The interesting part is that at the end of the month, he had a going business.  The courts were booked solid, and have been ever since.

My friend understood what a new customer was worth to him. He knew that once people got used to playing at his courts instead of someone else’s they’d be back. He charged more per hour for court hire and coaching than the other tennis court complexes. But the customers got extra value with the swimming pool and barbecue facilities and friendlier service.

Because Warren knew what the Lifetime Value of his customer was,
………..he gave something away and ended up making a fortune.

He knew a regular weekly booking of two hours means $20 per week x 52 = $1,040 per year.  Plus coaching at $25 per half-hour each week, plus sales of tennis balls, clothes, etc, etc. This means he could well afford to give all those Free games, coaching and food to attract new customers.

Another business that applied this concept brilliantly is a restaurant called the Alley Deli. The owner, Norman Gordon, sent a letter to all the VIPs in the community, to the main partners in law firms and the executive heads of all the companies located in buildings just a few blocks away from his restaurant. Altogether he mailed 120 letters. They were addressed by name to all the people on his list and included a menu.

His offer was simple:

A FREE Lunch!

The result? Out of 120 people, 100 accepted the lunch. Half of them ordered another lunch at the same time. Most of those people became steady customers. Norman Gordon said:

“It would have taken me six months to bring in the kind of business
direct mail brought me in six days. I couldn’t afford to wait six months.”

He tripled his business since making that offer … using only similar direct mail approaches to qualified prospects.  The letter was written by my dear friend Murray Raphel. A famous retail marketing and advertising expert from Atlantic City. Murray has also owned a very successful shopping centre for the past 24 years. (He promotes it only by direct mail.)

Are you excited by the possibilities for your business? Well wait and see what’s next.

Who is Australia’s best-known hairdresser?? You may have already heard of him. His name is Stefan Ackerie. His picture is in most shopping centres in the form of a life size cut out next to the hairdressing salons that bear his name.

Stefan started out by offering Free haircuts
                                       …….and he still does it today, more than ten years after he started.

He knows the average person comes in 10 times a year and spends at least $30 each time, giving him $300 in turnover and perhaps $200 in profit in just one year. If his stylists do a great job on the Free Haircut, which they do, over 50% of people may become regulars. The costs in labour and products for the Free Haircut? Around $8, at most!! With the $200 in profit at the end of the year, he knew he could give away the $8 style cut to get a new customer. Is he the biggest in Australia? Yes, he is! Because he understands that to give is to get!

But what if you don’t have a restaurant, hairdressing salon or a tennis complex? Could you apply this to your business? Absolutely! Here are some examples. Accountants, lawyers and doctors can give away a free consultation worth $150. Bowling centres – Free games. Supermarkets – coupons for Free food items.  Car service centres – Free first service or Free brake checks.  Muffler shops – Free muffler checks. Landscapers and Nurseries – Free lawn reports …

Any business, such as clothing or any retailer, can simply have no strings attached Free gift vouchers of $10, $20, $50 or whatever amount will work to bring new customers to them.

A petrol station can give $30 off the first month’s bill for new accounts. This method was used successfully by a company in Gosford called Bowen Petroleum. An equipment rental company can offer $100 of Free rental for each new account opened.

A furniture dealer can offer a Free booklet, “How to decorate your home”. Look, anyone can use this technique. I am always offering potential customers Free Information. And some of those people end up spending thousands of dollars with me.

What I am really doing is “buying” new customers.

“Buying” new customers with an irresistible offer really works, and it works amazingly well almost every time. The only time is doesn’t work is if your offer is weak or you target the wrong people.

Human beings are creatures of habit. We keep doing the same old comfortable things we’ve always done. To get a potential customer to break their habit of going to another business, you must give them a very strong reason to try you. That’s why a FREE offer is so effective.

It’s a risk free way for them to get to sample your product or service.

There is another exception when this approach won’t work. It won’t work if your product or service is lousy. If you don’t follow up your customers with Thank You notes, letters and other forms of personal communication. If you ignore them after they buy from you … and in that case you deserve it. Because good business is about developing relationships and keeping in touch with your customers.

Isn’t it true, if you don’t call or write to your friends, you’ll soon lose touch with them? If you are having a party and don’t invite your friends they aren’t going to turn up, are they? How could they, if they don’t know about it? So come on, turn your customers into friends by showing them you care. Keep in touch with them on a regular basis by mail or phone. And watch those profits grow.

A word of caution.

Before you rush out and start making free offers to the world …

Work out the Lifetime Value of your customer and test all your offers and ideas on a small scale. Analyse the results, adjust your approach if needed, and only then go all out. If you test everything you do on a small scale first, you’ll never get burned and go out of business.

But you will knock the socks of your competitors every single time, because they’ll still be offering 10% off

Use this form to calculate

 The Lifetime Profit Value of Your Customers

Average Sale per customer ($):

 

LESS – Cost of sale ($):

 

GIVES YOU Profit per sale ($):

 

MULTIPLY BY No. of sales per year:

 

GIVES YOU Profit per year ($):

 

MULTIPLY BY – No. of years as a customer:

 

 

 

Lifetime profit per customer ($):

 

Lifetime Profit Of A Customer: Once you know what a customer is really worth to you, you can start to experiment with different offers to get new people to become your customers. You can determine how much you can afford to spend to bring a new person into your business.

 Used Car ad: This type of a small ad could be used to get inquiries from people interested in any type of business. Follow it up with a letter, usually selling your product or an appointment with the prospective customer.Business Marketing, Business Plan And Sales Training

Accountant ad: Most business for Accountants and other professionals comes from referrals.  In this ad, the company first gives reasons why you should deal with them and then offers a FREE initial consultation worth $300. If the potential client, likes what they get in the free appraisal of their business, they will probably keep coming back for life.

Business Marketing, Business Plan And Sales Training

The Alley Deli Letter: This letter was sent by a small restaurant to influential people in the community; elected officials, prominent businessmen, and professionals. For 100 letters sent, the reaction was excellent. More than half took advantage of the free sandwich. And about half (25 people) ordered at least one more sandwich. Within a month, 25% were steady regular customers. This letter was written by Murray Raphael – author of many excellent books on retail marketing.

Business Marketing, Business Plan And Sales Training

Car service coupon: Here’s how a car repair business can apply the idea of Lifetime Value by making an attractive offer to new customers. This technique works extremely well for any service business. A car service business doubled its profits within six months of applying these marketing principles.

 Business Marketing, Business Plan And Sales Training

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One Response to “The Amazing Secret Of Getting New Customers For Your Business”

  1. Gift Vouchers For Special Customers | Better Business Institute +649 4770490

    […] you can give them your own vouchers (here’s why and this is another reason). TweetPin ItShare8b450ee929666d63c913cc8b469a6151 reddit_url = […]

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