In seeing businesses starting to re-open, I’m also seeing many of them lose the customer focus so prevalent in the early days of the pandemic.From Covid-19 surcharges on invoices and restaurant bills to across-the-board price increases, it appears many businesses have swung the pendulum the other way.
It’s likely due to fear of a potential recession/depression.
Rather than “penalize” customers, here are some things you can do to increase revenue and client retention regardless of what the economy overall is doing:
- Break out larger packages, programs and offers into smaller chunks so clients can invest in the solution they need today, not one that will serve them in six months.
- Look at how you’re currently serving clients and identify what else you can offer to solve their current issues/needs/wants.
- Surprise your clients with extra goodies that are low cost for you and high impact for them. For example, I’ve sent blow up beach balls to remind clients to enjoy the summer months, ninja stress dolls to “slice through their ‘to do’ list, organizational tools and other goodies. (OrientalTrading.com is a great resource for these goodies.)
- Do a business review of what’s working (and not!) for marketing, sales/conversions, programs/products/services and admin/operations. I recently did with a client for her to discover that she was so wrapped up in her value-add marketing strategies that she was neglecting to make offers. It’s easy to get so focused on the trees that we miss seeing the forest.
- Do at least one thing every day that drives future business — send a note, make a call, write an article, mail a postcard, shock someone with a fax, think outside the box.
Which of the above “recession busters” will you do this week?