Businesses are always looking for ways to increase profit and in this series we will be offering some tips on ways to do exactly that – without having to invest much at all. These pointers involve doing little things, that will steadily grow the bottom line.
How to increase customer spend while they are already purchasing goods or services from you
Some people use the word up-selling to describe ways to encourage customers to spend more. It can also be thought of as the “do you want fries with that” strategy but in reality up-selling can be done in a way that is a far softer sell and ensures goodwill into the bargain, as well as creating repeat customers and attracting new ones,
An electrician, for example may be called out to fix a faulty fuse box and after that job is done, will normally leave and then send an invoice. Job done and dusted and off to the next one. But what about offering a free audit of the electrical system throughout the whole house and presenting a quote? Some customers may say no, but many won’t and when an audit is done with suggestions for work that needs doing and a sense of how much that may cost, a customer is left with something for free and the sense that a tradesperson cared enough about their property to offer peace of mind about the overall security of their home. Imagine the fantastic position that then puts the electrician in to do more work and increase the value of the work done? While not every customer will take up the offer, a good percentage will and that act has boosted goodwill, created a satisfied customer and boosted the bottom line with more work in future. Free audits such as these for tradespeople can then turn into seasonal or annual occurrences, that can be automated with reminders via text or email.
“It’s worth remembering that satisfied customers will create new customers through word of mouth and online reviews.”
The same idea applies to any tradesperson that may be called out – a plumber who offers a free check of all the plumbing in the house, an arborist who evaluates the condition of all the trees on a property. The idea is to create a sense of security for a homeowner and then a trust will develop. It’s worth remembering that satisfied customers will create new customers through word of mouth and online reviews.
Even doing something for free can do so much for customer satisfaction and creating goodwill. An arborist told me once that after he has put branches through a chipper he leaves the mulch for the homeowner to be used on the garden. In reality he said it saves him having to take it away himself but customers love it. It’s thoughtful, eco-friendly and gives them something at no cost.
“For a very small investment, strategies like this increase the value of customer spend.”
Loyalty cards work well across all types of business and encourage repeat visits and repeat customers – all on the strength of a discount or something for free. Satisfied customers will want to return and an incentive means that they will. Selling one cup of coffee is fine, but selling eight more with one for free at the end is a profit boost and there’s always the possibility of more sales from other things off the menu on repeat visits. For a very small investment, strategies like this increase the value of customer spend, ensure they will come to your store as opposed to a competitor and increase revenue – without having to do very much at all.
Attracting customers can take time and effort, so it is imperative to ensure they will keep coming back. Implementing small strategies to increase their spend while giving them something in return other than what they have paid for is a total win win for every business.
Next time we will look at ways to make the most out of a customer database.
