Four ways to top up your turnover

For many small businesses, the prospect of getting new customers through the door dominates every waking thought. But while incentivising new sign-ups or sales is a key part of any business strategy, it’s not the be-all and end-all.

Indeed, there are many ways to increase your business’s turnover (and profit) without adding numbers to your customer base - it’s simply a case of getting a little closer to those you already serve…

Here are four ways to increase turnover from your existing customer base:

1.  Get learning

Make it your mission to learn as much as you can about your customers, using everything from online analytics packages (if your business has a commerce element) to good old-fashioned conversation.

Try to understand what kind of people your customers are, what they like about your business or products, what their interests are and what they have in common with each other. This kind of information, in tandem with age and location type data, will help you draw up demographics of your customer base - allowing you to target your marketing more successfully and drive more return visits.

2.  Get personal 

Personalisation is a huge trend in the consumer world, with customers coming to expect a personalised service even when shopping online (think of the tailored features you see on e-commerce websites, like ‘products you might be interested in’). 

Offering this kind of tailored service can add significantly to the average spend per customer, enabling you to build bigger profits without adding to your customer base.

Of course, depending on the type of business you’re running, it’s not always possible to tailor the experience for every single customer. In this case you need to focus on your core market, and consider how you can add value - is there perhaps a product or service they need alongside yours? Could you offer it too, to save them going elsewhere?

3.  Get social 

Typically, the modern consumer engages with a brand across multiple channels, so make sure your customers can reach you in as many ways as possible. If you’re using social media, keep active and don’t let your pages fall into state of disrepair.

Use measurable channels as much as possible - email marketing being one good example. You’ll be able to track responses to see how your messages are resonating with people, and can test new strategies by sending different versions of your message to see what works best.

4.  Get training! 

All that customer information you’ve harnessed in step one needs to filter down to your staff if it’s to be used effectively. Train your employees to recognise the different types of customer that make up your customer base, and tailor their sales approach accordingly.

Remember, it’s your loyal existing customers more likely to buy into an up-sell or upgrade, so incentivise staff to provide a top-class service to these people, not just to bring new customers on board. 

Looking for more ways to boost your business? Choose an accountant that takes a pro-active role in helping you grow your company. Call us on 0121 667 3882 or email us here.

You may find these blogs of interest too:

Contractor expenses- an introduction

Three ways your accountant can help grow your business

Three ways to better bookkeeping

A virtual CFO for your small business