Are You Too Reliant On A Core Of Returning Customers?

If your business has a couple of really big clients who keep on coming back, that's a good thing. Most companies have securing high value, repeat customers at the core of their business development strategy. However, over dependence on a core of returning customers – at the expense of new business sales – can be a risky approach. Here’s why.

The Dangers Of Over-Reliance

When a big client chooses your business repeatedly, in many ways that's great – but there's another side. Imagine if one of those clients disappeared, either because they ran into trouble or because they chose to work with a competitor. How would it impact your company? It might well leave a big hole in your cashflow, and potentially pose a risk to your company's existence.

Why New Clients Matter

The best way to avoid this trap is to ensure you're not overly dependent on a couple of customers. It's best to diversify and look for additional clients. If you're working with a wider pool of customers, then losing one – while disappointing – is much less likely to be a threat to your company's viability. You're also more likely to be able to choose which clients to work with and which business to take on.

How Can You Attract New Clients?

In the past, many businesses tried to do this with old-fashioned "outbound marketing" methods such as cold calling and direct mail. These have many drawbacks compared with what's known as inbound marketing. The ideal is to build a reputation of expertise and quality, so that clients actively want to come to you first and foremost, rather than any of your competitors. To do that, you'll need to build a reputation as a company that's great to work with. Make sure your customer service is consistently outstanding, and follow up regularly to check that clients are delighted with what you're offering them. Target your audience appropriately – researching this can be time-consuming and expensive to achieve in-house, so working with a business growth specialist like JDR is often highly cost-effective.

The Benefits Of Inbound Marketing Through An Agency Partner

• Better social media reach – Make the right posts or tweets, at the right times, for the right people.
• Better cost and ROI tracking – Using the tools offered by a platform like HubSpot, you can collect and analyse data about what visitors to your site do and what grabs their attention, as well as the costs and returns associated with each campaign and individual marketing activity.
• Better conversion – Optimising your site to give the most popular aspects greater prominence should mean more prospects make the jump and become paying customers.
• Better brand authority – By leveraging the power of inbound marketing, including email, blogs, pay-per-click and search engine optimisation (SEO), you can build your brand as a powerful industry force.

It's dangerous to lean too heavily on one or two big clients, even if they're major sources of income. There's always the risk that losing one could leave your company in a precarious position. An effective inbound marketing strategy can help attract new clients and greatly reduce your exposure. To find out more, please call us on 01332 343281.

Image source: Stock Unlimited