So you're not a Carpenter...so what?

I get asked by businesses how they can add revenues and 'pick up business.' I'm always amazed that the answers aren't obvious - offer something new that will attract customers or that will get your current customers to buy more often from you.

Ok, smartie pants. I know, "That and a buck will maybe get you a cup of cheap coffee."

No, really. Here's an example.

Suppose you own a restaurant. Most restaurants have a certain seasonality to their customer base. If you run a restaurant near a university or college, then your season depends on when the students are in town. If you operate near a major employer, then your traffic is going to depend on their financial health and their work schedules. If you work out doors, you are dependent on the weather. in other words, you have high and low periods, and you want to find a way to generate more sales in the low periods too.

Fair enough.

I can't count the number of times I've seen this stat, but I know it to be true: The cost of getting a sale from 1 new customer is 7 times as much as getting a sale from a retourning customer.

What that means is that you must advertise, discount, promote, introduce, etc. in order to get a new customer. A returning customer already knows about you and knows what they are most likely to want to buy from you before they start.

So if you want to grow your customer base, it only makes sense to encourage your existing customers to bring new customers with them, thereby doubling your sales and introducing new customers to your business. It's far cheaper and faster than trying to go get new customers from scratch. Honest.

So how do you do *that*, then?

Simple - give them something new when they bring a new customer on board and give them the best experience they've had with you and your sales will go up.

And yes, 2-for-1's do work to a degree, but that doesn't create buzz or lasting interest. It only creates a temporary boost at a dramatic cost.

No, I mean come up with a new product that your existing customers will go nuts for and encourage them to bring in new customers to buy them too.

For restaurants you could try a new cocktail of the week special and a course on making cocktails and a recipe book to sell with it.

For clothing stores, have a retro fashion show and sell a book on your store's history of fashion, along with a whole rack of retro clothes for sale. It'll clear out old inventory, and bring a feeling of belonging to the store to its customers.

For electronics stores sell an E-book on how to wire electronics gizmos when you get them home. We all know those stupid instructions booklets are utterly useless!

The list is endless - really.

The question isn't can you get more sales, the question is what are you prepared to offer to get them? Are you simply going to do a couponing, or are you going to give the customer something they'll remember, talk about and come back with friends to buy something else from you next time?