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. 

Turning around the screen to improve your marketing

My family has been playing a phone game called 'Flow'. You need to plot a path to match the coloured dots, without crossing the path of another.  An example is shown here.

Simple enough, yet sometimes it seems really difficult to see how the puzzle can be solved. 

A technique we've discovered is to rotate the screen around to see the conundrum from a different angle. Often this new perspective is all that's needed for them to work out the path they need. The solution for this one is below!

When meeting new clients, I regularly discover they've been struggling to find ways to engage with their customers and find new business.  Often, the marketing that has been delivering them enquiries and sales has stopped being so effective or they are unsure how to break into new markets. 

Through our mentoring sessions we 'turn round the screen'. By looking at their marketing data and asking the right questions we determine a new path and work together to develop and deliver new marketing campaigns. 

Sookias Media enables small and medium organisations to develop effective and successful marketing that generates the enquiries and leads they need to achieve their business objectives and generate a return on investment. Through consultancy, mentoring, training and services we’ll help you to understand your market place, identify ideal customers and implement marketing activities to engage them. 

For a no-obligation, impartial chat about how marketing mentoring can improve your sales pipeline, call Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com. 

The Puzzle Solution...

Stuck on your marketing? You might have 'Blank Piece of Paper Syndrome'

You've a beautiful piece of blank paper: smooth, clean and ready to record your marketing ideas. It is a moment of opportunity to bring your important messages to potential clients and existing customers.

Should you use a sales letter, phone calls, social media, exhibitions or something else...?

It needs to have impact. 
It needs to generate a return on the time and money you put in to it.
What will work? 
What should you say? 
What will have the most impact? 
You want it to be interesting. 
You want people to notice it.


Suddenly that blank piece of paper stops being enticing and instead everything seems daunting so its pushed away for another day... This is what I call 'Blank Piece of Paper Syndrome'.

I often start working with clients when they've become stuck on their marketing. By talking through their aspirations and needs for the business, we work together to develop an effective - and practical - plan to follow. Sometimes it's a on-off consultancy session. More often we then follow progress through monthly mentoring and/or providing the marketing services needed.  Can we help you?

Develop effective and successful marketing that generates the enquiries and leads you need to achieve your business objectives and generate a return on investment. Through consultancy, mentoring, training and services, Sookias Media enables small and medium organisations to understand their market place, identify ideal customers and implement marketing activities to engage them. 

For a no-obligation, impartial chat about how marketing mentoring can help you overcome Blank Paper Syndrome, call Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com. 

Finding your ideal customers

I'm a firm believer in people buy from people. I enjoy meeting prospective clients but how I make the initial contact varies: it's often through social media, exhibitions, conferences and carefully selected networking events. 

It's easy to waste time, money and energy looking for your ideal customers in the wrong place. 

Let me give you an example. I enjoy networking but the groups I belonged to when I first set up 10+ years ago are no longer appropriate.  This is because I have a clear understanding of who is my ideal customer. This includes the types of company they work in, the positions they hold as well as where they go for help, what they read, how they like to engage as well plus an in-depth insight into their marketing needs.

So these days, I do a little networking, but go where I meet the decision makers from SMEs.  I use social media to engage with prospective clients, influencers and referrers.  

Top Tip: Review your marketing activities. Are they finding you your ideal clients? If not, take an in-depth view of who you want as customers and how best to reach them.

Need help? Contact me today to discuss how we can help you find your ideal customers through marketing mentoring, training and services. Tel:  +44 1283 808460 | Twitter: @HannahSookias | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahsookias

What makes good PR?

PR – start by becoming your company’s roving reporter When asked what makes good PR (public relations), I usually give a simple answer – good stories. The media love them, so my tip for this month is to put on a journalist’s hat and discover what’s happening in your organisation. Find an angle and hook ‘em in Think up, down and around a story to find a unique angle. I use an NLP technique called ‘chunking’ to help me do this. For example, a story about new packaging is unlikely to get coverage. A celebrity-designed box or a process using NASA technology will probably have more interest. Make them interesting It sounds obvious to ensure your stories are interesting, but it is so often overlooked. Ask your trusted friends and colleagues for their honest opinion. If you are still not sure, give me a ring on +44 (0)1283 808460 to see what I think! The best media stories have one or more of the following elements: Is the story are topical and timely Is the story relevant to the readers /viewers/listeners of your target media? Is the angle unusual, or better still, unique? Is there an element of controversy? Journalists like – need – tension to make an interesting news story Is there plenty of human interest with people who can tell their story like it is and with impact? Stories to look out for Look out for awards, charity events, celebrity visits and anniversaries. Find triumph over adversity stories; good versus evil; major milestones or issues linked to something in the news. Stories about the first, last, biggest, smallest, most, least and best of all, unique always go down well.  Mix business with pleasure Feel free to mix business with pleasure. If someone in your organisation is trying to raise £1,000 for a charity, consider making it your corporate charity of the year and raise £10k. Hold events to support them, and help to issue photos to the press afterwards with a write up: ‘Mrs Smith, a worker at XYZ company has been astonished at the generosity of her co-workers to help raise this fantastic amount’. Happy reporting! Sookias Media helps businesses increase awareness, leads and sales. Through consulting, training and marketing we help them understand and use a range of marketing techniques including press releases, public relations (PR), digital PR, social media as well as more traditional marketing tools such as newsletters, eshots and direct mail.  For a no-obligation, impartial chat about how marketing and PR can improve your sales pipeline, call Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com.