Mining for Gold

Posted by Jackie Ewing on December 29, 2009

Instead of spending all of your time and money on looking for new customers to buy from you, have you thought about “mining” your past customers for “gold”?

What I mean by that is, if your customers have purchased from you at least once before and have enjoyed their experience of dealing with you, the chances that they will buy from  you again are very good.  So, have you contacted them and asked them if they are looking to buy something similar?  If they are not, have you asked them if they would recommend you to their family, friends and acquaintances?  Their recommendations can be an excellent source of unpaid “advertising” for you.

We all know how referrals work in our own lives – you have a great experience at a restaurant, or see a great movie and you tell all your friends about it.  There is a very good chance that they will try that restaurant or movie based only on your recommendation!

Well, that same principle applies to the business of selling.  Personal recommendations from your customers to THEIR personal circle will generate some form of business for you.  It might not be in the form of immediate sales, but over time, it will result in sales and repeat customers.  Remember that what other people say about you, your product or your service is far more powerful than what you say about it yourself.

This is where the power of Social Media can really help this concept.  You should be using the power of  excellent social media tools (e.g. Twitter, Facebook Fan Page) to communicate with your customers on a level that is NOT about selling.  You should be learning about them, from them and giving something back to them. The power of the personal circle and recommendations can be seen daily on Twitter and Facebook and you should make that a part of this mining process.

You also need to communicate with your customers on a regular basis through email and print.  If you don’t have an email newsletter, you are losing out on the potential of building really lasting, long-term relationships with your customers.  Your communication to them is not a bother, if they don’t unsubscribe.  They may not react immediately because they are not ready to buy.  But when they are, because you communicate with them regularly, you are at the forefront of their mind when a particular need arises.  Some will respond better to print so you should also use direct mail as part of your mining process. Continue to “mine” your list and communicate with them very regularly.

If you offer to reward your past customers for referring folks to you that do end up purchasing with you, you will have a better response.  It doesn’t have to be anything major – although most folks would really appreciate a 53” Plasma screen TV!  -it could be a discount off their own next purchase with you; it could be a $25 Starbucks card; it could be free pizza for a couple of nights – the possibilities are endless. They are limited only by your imagination!

If your customers ARE going to purchase again, then make them an offer they cannot refuse – while still making a decent profit from the sale.  Be creative and make your offer so compelling, that they will WANT to come back and buy from you and are ready to buy now.

So, my advice is to turn to those that you have done business with in the past and “mine” them NOW for some “gold” in your business that is waiting to be found.

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