Finding New\nCustomers <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accepted wisdom\ntells us it is far cheaper to sell old customers than find new customers, but – new sales are\nthe lifeblood of business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Naturally referrals\nmay come from existing and happy customers, but still the vital area of\nentirely new business leads cannot be neglected, and should form part of\nbusiness development plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s all\nabout communicating with the customers you could<\/em>\nhave as well as those you\u2019ve already<\/em>\ngot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where to\nstart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could apply\nsome logic and attack the challenge in 2 stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First take a\nlook at overall market \/ product segments. This applies if your business is\nalready established \u2013 for new startups see below, its all about acquiring the\nfirst 10 customers to get going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you\ntrying to sell existing products into new markets? Or new products into\nexisting markets (ie developing current\ncustomers)? Or perhaps new products into entirely new markets ( the most risky)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Options 1\nand 2 are clearly going to be less risky and expensive, while option 3 , a\ngreenfield of dreams, is the most risky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a\nclear idea of the big picture from this analysis, you can move on to the nitty\ngritty \u2013 getting customised messages out to those who may be interested and profitable\ncustomers in each of the segments identified, and tailoring the sales process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan Kennedy\ncoined a term for this \u2013 split the work into 3 areas and address \u201cMMM\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this idea\nthe whole picture is covered from the internet \/ social media to old school\nbillboards. Simply break up the task into manageable parts and drill down to devise\nactivities which are cost\/effective in each area, rather than take on the whole\nthing at one go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start ups<\/p>\n\n\n\n For new\nstarts, developing opportunities from zero is the name of the game. What do\ncustomers really want, that they cannot find now, and how can you supply the\ndemand at a profit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n To keep it\nsimple ignore the threats and weaknesses in your fledgling idea, focus on the\nupside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To start\nwith you may have an idea, based on industry knowledge, but failing that you\nwill start with some research and financial estimations to see what ideas may\nbe profitable based on assumptions about pricing, distribution, and\nmarketing\/selling costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost\neverything in marketing research is expensive, but there are some free sources\nto try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once a\nlikely candidate product surfaces the work has only just started. All aspects\nneed to be examined and somehow documented for assessment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the key \u2013 find 10 customers by whatever means possible<\/em> \u2013 to transform your idea into a real business with cashflow. The key will be actually talking, toe to toe, and the selling proposition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion –\nProduct succession<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing is\nconstant and that\u2019s change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having one\nsuccess is only the start, the process must be repeated and ongoing in order to\nstay up with trends and keep the new sales coming in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Finding New Customers Accepted wisdom tells us it is far cheaper to sell old customers than find new customers, but – new sales are the lifeblood of business. Naturally referrals may come from existing and happy customers, but still the vital area of entirely new business leads cannot be neglected, and should form part of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-561","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n