Cross-selling: the art of getting more sales from existing customers

It's often said that it's more cost-effective to keep new customers than attract new ones. 

Research indicates that not only does the cost of acquiring a new customer costs five to ten times more, but repeat customers spend, on average, 67% more.

So how do you both keep your customers and get them to buy more? This is the art of cross-selling!

Large brands use a wide range of methods that smaller companies can copy:

• Fast food chains ask, 'Would you like fries with that?'
• Shoe shops share the benefits of their protection spray and polish at the checkout. Similarly, hairdressers have the hair products they've used available to purchase.
• Deals and bundles encourage additional purchases for example: sandwich, crisps and a drink or water filter plus cartridges
• Fashion retailers track the clothes customers have browsed and purchased online and use this to personalise promotional emails for similar and 
• Online sellers such as Amazon give recommendations 'Other people who bought this also bought...'
• Product manufacturers use their packaging to highlight similar products. Neutradol (pictured) is a good example sharing other products designed for use in different situations. Face creams and shampoos often state, 'best results when used with...'

Before doing anything though, know what it is that your customers are already buying from you and identifying 'what else' they could get from you.

I recently worked with an engineering company looking to increase the services sold to their existing customers. The services currently used by customers were mapped and those as yet untapped were used to identify cross-sell opportunities. A plan was then developed which determined what to sell, to whom and the marketing activities that would attract them.

If customers say to you, "I didn't know you did that" then consider how you can improve your cross-selling to you can grow sales from the customer base you already have. 

For help understanding how your company can increase sales from their existing customers through cross-selling, then do contact us for a no-obligation chat with Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com. 

Grow your marketing results

We gave away these aluminium tubes at a business expo yesterday. Intriguing little things aren't they? Many people stopped and asked us what was in them. People who'd seen others with them came and asked if they could also have one. 

I'd love to say they contain magic marketing dust... but they are actually desktop gardens! 

As Sookias Media helps companies to grow their marketing results, we wanted to give delegates something they could have the satisfaction of growing. They contain the soil, seeds and instructions to grow summer flowers.

You see, we know that gaining more from your marketing has similar principles to growing a garden:

• Planning
• To get the display you want, garden plants need to be planned and planted so that they blossom throughout the year and give a continual display. Marketing needs to be planned so it gives you the results (leads,  enquiries and sales) throughout the year.

• Follow the instructions
• Planting seeds and plants in the wrong place means they won't grow. Your marketing plan is like the growing instructions for your plants, follow it an you'll have more success achieving greater return on investment. 

• Care and Nurture
• Like a veg patch and flower bed, your marketing needs maintenance to keep it both flourishing and producing even more year on year. From keeping your database clean and adding to it, to reviewing your results to see which areas are producing the results you needs and the ones that need changing. 

• Replanting
• Conditions can change in your garden and/or you want to refocus on what your grow. It's the same with your marketing as your industry changes, your product and service focus changes or your want to sell more into new markets. 

For all of these, it is of course possible to do it all yourself, learning through trial and error as well using advice from friends and colleagues, blogs, books and magazines. 

There are also times when asking a specialist can generate a greater return in a shorted time. When we redesigned our home garden, we used a local garden designer to help us realise our dream outside space. Marketing consultancy and mentoring from Sookias Media can help you plan, work on and nurture your marketing so you grow and enjoy the return on investment you make. 

Read our case studies to learn how companies have been growing their marketing results, If you would like to explore how marketing consultancy, mentoring and training or marketing services could help your company, please contact us for a no-obligation chat with Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com. 

Are you searching for clients in the wrong place?

When I first set up Sookias Media, one of my early clients was a carpet cleaning company. They wanted more domestic clients but only seemed to find office jobs through their current advertising. 

We started with an in-depth discussion about who would be their ideal domestic customer - families with kids and dogs.

I asked questions such as, " Why would they have their carpets cleaned; what do they enjoy doing together and individually; where do they go; what do they read/listen to, what's important to them?" 

By the way, profiling like this works whoever your ideal customer is - be they accountants, heavy engineering sales managers, retailers or consumers. The reason behind it is that even the best promotions will fall flat when they're in the wrong place. They need to be noticed by your ideal customers in their normal daily life. 

In this instance, we agreed that parents with younger children probably wound't see their current promotions, However, we thought they would go to indoor play centres and enjoy a cuppa whilst their offspring have fun (from experience, going with friends can be fun but if you are your own as an adult you have lots of time to notice your surroundings and read the noticeboards!). Having just secured a contract to clean such a business, we developed a campaign to promote the carpet cleaning firm's services in the play centre. 

It developed into a long term form of buddy marketing so both businesses promoted and gave a testimonial to the other. Parents, noticing the clean play centre would then relate to and make note of the banner promoting the company that kept the centre's carpets looking clean and hygienic. In return, receipts given by the cleaning firm to family clients promoted the play centre on the reverse.

Hannah Sookias helps businesses develop effective marketing with fresh perspectives and ideas. Through and consultancy, training and marketing mentoring we can help you profile your ideal customers and how best to catch their attention. Contact us to find out more and arrange a no-obligation chat with Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com.