You don’t need new customers

Many businesses are working harder than ever to generate new leads, yet still struggle to hit their growth targets. Customer churn is eroding your revenue, opportunities to upsell to existing clients are being missed, and you and your sales team are stuck on an expensive cycle of constantly replacing customers you've lost. 

The result is wasted time, higher acquisition costs and lower profitability. 

What's often overlooked is that the solution is not always about finding more customers, it's about doing a better job of retaining and developing the ones you already have.
It is pointless opening the front door to new business if the back door is wide open for existing ones to leave through.

For many, growth has become synonymous with new client acquisition. More leads, more prospects and more marketing campaigns.  All of these cost time and money.  Yet the reality is that it’s highly likely you could achieve your growth ambitions without winning a single new customer.

Read that again.  No new customers needed.

Existing customers already know your business, trust your expertise and understand the value you deliver.  They are therefore far more likely to buy additional products or services, than someone who has never worked with you before.  You just need to listen to their challenges and find them a solution.

As an example, when I was in a corporate sales role, I took a £350K a year client to just shy of £4M per year, by selling them solutions to other problems they had.

Studies suggest that acquiring a new customer can cost five to seven times more than retaining an existing one. A cost that you really don’t need to spend. Upselling and cross-selling to current customers is typically faster, cheaper and more profitable because the relationship, credibility and trust have already been established.

This is without a mention of increasing prices (and therefore margin) in line with the value you are delivering.

So why do so many I speak to leave this upselling opportunity untapped?

The answer often comes down to a lack of focus. Customer touchpoints are not fully developed or consistently followed. Account reviews happen infrequently, if at all. 

Conversations about customer satisfaction, future challenges and additional needs are often missed altogether, usually due to poor planning, no agenda or being afraid to ask the questions.

Businesses become so focused on finding the next amazing customer, that they neglect the ones they've already worked hard to win.

The result is predictable in my experience: customers become disengaged if they think you don’t care, meaning retention rates fall, growth opportunities are overlooked or declined and valuable revenue is left on the table.

If growth is a priority for you (I’d be very surprised if revenue growth isn’t), the first question shouldn't be, "How do we find more customers?" It should be, "How can we create more value for the customers we already serve and get them to spend more with us?”

Customers where you are selling more to them (assuming great service levels and ROI) are more loyal, are retained and refer more great prospects to you.

Five strategies to unlock growth from existing customers:

• Schedule regular customer reviews - to discuss service feedback, their growth objectives, their challenges and frustrations

• Create a structured customer journey - with consistent touchpoints throughout the relationship

• Actively measure customer satisfaction - and respond quickly to feedback

• Look for opportunities to solve additional problems - ask clever questions and offer complementary products or services

• Develop a proactive nurture programme - that keeps your business visible and valuable between purchases

Before increasing your marketing budget or ramping up lead generation activity, take a closer look at your existing customer base.

You will discover that your biggest growth opportunity isn't out in the market at all - it’s staring you in the face.

Are you ready to unlock growth?

I spend a lot of time with high growth clients developing customer account plans.  Plans that map out deeper relationships, retention touchpoint and growth opportunities to pursue.  These help maximise the baseline revenue and profit before a new client is ever chased. 

If you're unsure whether you're maximising the value of your current customers, now is the perfect time to take a closer look.  A structured review of your customer journey, customer touchpoints and account management processes can often reveal significant opportunities for increased retention, upselling and long-term revenue growth.

Don't spend more on acquiring new customers before ensuring you're getting the most from the ones you've already won.

The next time you're worrying about where your next customer is coming from, spend an hour looking at the customers you already have.  You might find your biggest growth opportunity is already on your books.

If you'd like to explore how to get more value from your existing customer base, I'm always happy to have a chat.