Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers
I’ve written about Starbucks on the blog before. They’ve been going through some tough times of late, as they struggle to regain some of the unbelievable growth and sales momentum they’ve enjoyed over the past few years.
Starbucks is a great company to watch when it comes to marketing. After all, this is a coffee shop that has built a brand and reputation around experience and has convinced customers that it’s worth paying $3 for a cup of coffee when the donut shop down the street sells it for $1.25.
Today the AP has a story about how Starbucks is offering grande drinks (that’s the large size, by the way) for $2 in the afternoon. The catch is that customers have to show a receipt for a beverage purchase in the morning to qualify for that special pricing.
The net result should be an increase in sales in the afternoon, along with a possible increase in sales in the morning. Regular morning Starbucks customers will be more able to justify that afternoon pick-me-up if it’s “only” $2. Regular afternoon drinkers might just stop in on the way to the office as well, to take advantage of the special pricing in the afternoon.
Now let’s translate that into the hosting or ISP business. Customers who buy a .com domain name and hosting from you are probably willing to spend a bit more money if you present the offer to them in a way that makes it seem like a good idea. Some customers, especially small business, would respond to an offer to add the .net and .biz extensions if you offer to redirect them automatically. You don’t even have to do it at the same time as the initial sale. Follow-up a few weeks later and tell the customer that you noticed they bought a .com and ask them if they knew the .net/.biz/.info was also available.
Use words like “protect your brand” or “make your business easy to find online” to make the point that registering the .net or .info version is worthwhile. And of course, don’t offer those extra domains at the same price as the .com you gave them with the hosting plan. Take advantage of things like our ongoing .info promotion to make more money. Each of those additional domains renews yearly, and once registered, the customer will be less likely to let them drop, meaning more sales revenues for you.
Another way to drive sales is through multiple domains. Once customers get started with something like a blog, you can use their experience to drive more sales. Offer them additional domains, with email campaigns that encourage them to get their friends and family domain names “before it’s too late.” Customers might be willing to add more domain names for their kids or spouse if you make it super easy to do so. You might also want to experiment with offering incentives to your current customers when they bring new customers in. For example, give them a month of hosting for free if they bring you a new customer who buys a domain name and a hosting plan.
It’s often easy to overlook your existing customers as a source of further revenue. Starbucks does a really good job at increasing average revenue per customer and creating brand ambassadors – people who sing the praises of Starbucks to friends and family. And with their latest campaign, they’re even improving their image when it comes to value. Customers spend more money each day, and think they are saving at the same time.
Think about your current customers when your considering ways to grow your business. You might find that you’ve been overlooking a potential source of revenue right in your own customer list.
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