Connecting with customers key to overcoming downturn, consultant claims

Alan Adams, Founder and Director of Horizons Consultants, is reminding firms across the county of the huge benefits maintaining and utilising an up-to-date Customer Relationship Management system can bring, especially for small-to-medium sized enterprises.

By building up a comprehensive database of contact information, businesses can take advantage by using these details to interact with customers in a relevant and targeted fashion to increase sales, loyalty, and repeat trade.

“We’ve all heard the old adage ‘it’s much easier to keep an existing customer happy than to find a new one’, and it’s a message that still rings true today, especially in a challenging economic climate,” Alan explained. “The more information a business can capture about its present or past customers, or even potential customers, the easier it is to capitalise by keeping its customer base happy and increasing repeat sales.”

Alan advises local firms to secure as many different contact details as possible through business cards, sales, enquiries, and competitions, and where possible, to try and not just obtain basic details such as names, email addresses, and telephone numbers, but also more in-depth information such as birthdays or the date of a previous enquiry or purchase. All this data can be stored, and added to over time, using simple to use database software, which can then be used to run targeted promotional campaigns or special offers.

“Take a restaurant for example. You’re the owner, and some people eat with you three or four times a year. If you have their details, then notify them of special new dishes, promotional discounts, or upcoming events - perhaps even make a note of the date when they come in for an anniversary or birthday, and then remind them of what a good time they had the next year – you can quite easily get them to buy another one or two meals a year. That’s roughly a 25% increase in a turnover, and that’s for just one customer – just think how the restaurant owner could significantly boost his profits by getting just a few people a week to do likewise by keeping in regular contact with them.

“The principle is the same across all sizes and sectors of business, yet surprisingly few companies I deal with are actually taking the time to learn a bit more about their customers. Putting a database together and staying in touch with your client-base can be time-consuming, but it’s more than worth the effort. If you compare the cost and time spent acquiring a new customer compared to simply staying in touch with your existing ones and generating loyal repeat business, it’s clear the benefits far outweigh the extra outlay.”