Your Biggest Asset Is NOT Your Truck...

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about that fact that most small business owners don't realise that their biggest company asset is their existing customer base.  When asked what their most valuable company asset is a lot of owners will say their office or their fleet of vehicles or their computer system.  But your company wouldn't have any of those things if you didn't have customers.  In fact, you wouldn't even have a company without customers.

While it should always be your goal to expand your customer base, the customers that you already have are far more valuable than you think.  Experts agree that it's 5 times more difficult to get a new customer than it is to sell to an existing customer.  Think about it.  On those days when you need extra cash, who do you contact?  Generally, you contact someone who has already done business with you because you've already established a relationship with them.   You don't have to try to sell them on your product or service because they've done business with you in the past and they already trust you.

Lessons from "Bricks and Mortar Businesses"

And that's the key word – Trust.  The average customer will visit your website at least 7 times before he develops enough trust in you to purchase your product or service.  During those 7 visits, he's checking you out.  He's looking for quality information that will answer all of his questions.  And he's looking for a chink in your armor.  He wants to make sure the information you're providing is accurate and that you're quoting him a fair price.  After all, when it comes to parting with our hard earned cash, we all want to make sure we're getting the best value for our investment.

But it's also been proven that, once this customer does buy from you, if you've delivered the goods as promised, and maybe even over-delivered, he will continue to buy from you whether you have the lowest price or not.  He's already established a relationship with you through your informative website and he already trusts you because you provided exactly what he was looking for, at a fair price, in the past. 

In the offline marketplace it's much easier to understand the process of establishing a relationship and building that trust with your customers because you deal with them face to face.  And it's also much easier to recognise those repeat customers are an asset to your company because you see them physically walk into your shop every week. 

Your Dentist probably sends you a reminder card every so often to tell you it's time for a checkup.  And insurance agents are known for sending out birthday cards.  You've probably got a magnet on your refrigerator from the pizza delivery company and maybe a florist or your local vet.  And the next time you have a toothache or feel the urge for a pepperoni pizza, those are the people you're most likely to call.  You've dealt with them before, you liked their service or product, and you've developed a relationship with them to the point that they send you a birthday card every year. 
 

These offline business owners all recognise that their most valuable asset is you – their repeat customer.  Your insurance agent probably passes out business cards to people he meets on the street in an effort to obtain new clients.  But even though you've already purchased his product, he's sending you a birthday card because he knows that if he maintains and strengthens his relationship with you, in the future you'll come to him with even more insurance needs.  As long as he maintains that relationship with you, it will be 5 times easier for him to sell you an expensive, high end policy than it will be for him to sell an inexpensive, basic policy to a stranger off the street.

But how do you go about developing a relationship with buyers you never see or speak to?   You can't just hand them a refrigerator magnet and you have no idea if they like pizza anyway.  And as for birthday cards, you have no idea where these people live.  Some of them could live in another country.

This is why it's so important that you understand that your website is also one of your most valuable company assets. Your website is the only interface you have with your online customer base and obviously it's doing it's job because it is selling your product. Now you also need to assign it the task of maintaining and developing that customer relationship.  Because remember, it will be 5 times easier for you to sell something to a person who has already bought something from you.

Ok so how...

One of the things that you can do to maintain that relationship with existing customers is to make sure you provide fresh information on your website on a regular basis. When your customers see that you stay on top of current trends in your marketplace they'll start coming to you first for their information.  If they never see anything new on your site, they may think you've gone out of business!

Providing new information is nice, but to develop a strong relationship you need two way communication.  When a customer walks into your shop, you exchange information and have a conversation.  Your website needs to do the same thing and it's very easy to do.  All you need is email.  It's very easy to use, it can all be automated so you rarely have to touch it, and it's far less expensive than paying for postage.

You probably already have the email addresses of the customers who've already done business with you. If not, you need to immediately place an opt-in form on your website. Preferably in a prominent place so no one will miss it - above the 'fold' so they don't have to scroll to find it.

Once you have these email addresses, you can start communicating regularly with your customers.  You can tell them about new products or about a special offer or sale you might be having.  But you can also get to know your customers on a more personal level, and that's what strengthens your relationship.  Send them an email every now and then and tell them a funny personal anecdote or give them a quick tip that has nothing to do with your business. 

And then, go one step further and invite them to respond. You can use survey software or if your website is a blog, you can allow comments on your posts.  In your email, ask your customers a question and then ask them to respond on your blog.  For example, “Hello, Mr. Smith.  You recently purchased our new XYZ Widget, and we're curious to know what you thought of it.  It's a new product for us and we're wondering if it's something more of our customers would be interested in.  We'd really appreciate your opinion and if you have a second, maybe you could stop by our blog and leave us a comment.”

You've just let your customer know that you value his opinion, and that you think others would, too.  Of course he'll stop by your blog and comment.  And Mr. Smith has now become one of your company's most valuable assets.