When I ask clients about their marketing goals for next year, I’m usually told, “Make more money.” Sometimes they may have a particular revenue goal in mind, but few are more specific than that.
There are only two ways to make more money:
1) Get more customers, or
2) Sell more to existing customers
(For guidance on which of these is more important for you to focus on, see What Should Your Goals Be?)
To get more customers, you also have two options:
1) Do more prospecting, or
2) Turn a higher percentage of inquirers into buyers
If on the other hand, you want to sell more to existing customers, there are several possibilities:
1) Contact your customers more frequently
2) Use a wider variety of media – including catalogs, direct mail, postcards, package inserts, email promotions, enewsletters or telemarketing – to reach your customers
3) Expand your product line
4) Increase your average sale with upsells and other offers
Each of these approaches implies a different strategy. Most companies excel in a few of these areas and neglect the others. How about you?
