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Why your customer list is vital when marketing in Ireland

By: Matt Eve.

One thing I repeatedly find as I work with small business owners in Ireland is that very few of them maintain any kind of records or computerised database of clients and prospects (Customer Relationship Management CRM system).

In this day and age of easily accessible and low cost technology it is really surprising to see that 80% of businesses are not keeping customer records in a proper system. Indeed even if they are using computers in other areas of their business for example bookkeeping very few Irish business owners are maximising the use of technology to improve their marketing.

The same Irish small business owners that are complaining that they are finding it increasingly expensive and difficult to identify new customers for their products and services are not doing enough to keep in touch with their existing clients.

The cost of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 100% less than the cost of having to acquire a new one and convert them to customers. Current clients of your business have experienced your service before and know how to find your premises. You have built up an relationship and track record with them so it is a pity to waste it. So in my mind it is more important to first look after the customers you have already rather than spending huge amounts of money in trying to attract new clients.

It is rather like a farmer working hard to buy a prize cow milking it once and then leaving it in the field while he goes off and buys a new cow. Surely it is more cost effective to keep milking the same cow and to look after it well so that it continues to produce milk day in day out for many years to come.

Now that you are aware of the importance of building your customer list you need to think about how you can implement such a system in your business. Each time you do a transaction with a customer you should be recording their details, ideally in electronic format. To keep costs low in the beginning you could even use a spreadsheet to do this.

Once you have the customers’ details how hard would it then be for you to send them a mailing such as a card to thank them for doing business with you. This is going to come out of the blue for them and set you apart from your competitors. How about then a month after they did business with you, you telephoned them and asked if the product was working ok for them. You never know they might need something more for you but just hadn’t got around to getting back in touch with you.

Every month then you could send each past customer a newsletter perhaps or special offers that tie in with seasonal festivals such as St Patrick’s Day.

Before too long you will have a steady supply of business and you should be able to reduce your spend on attracting new customers and just focus on the ones you have.

Article Source: Main Articles

About the author: Matt Eve is a author and owner of a marketing consultancy in Ireland.Read more of his articles at his irish marketing blog
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