One of the best ways to increase revenue is to increase your sales to existing clients.
In fact, it’s fair to say a client in hand is worth four in the bush. Existing clients can be very effective at bringing you new business as well because you have likely helped them solve a problem and helped bring them success. Besides a paycheck, your clients will often reward you by unconsciously selling others on your products and/or services. So, if your clients are out there selling you, why not make sure they are up to date with all that you have done and all that you do?
There are many ways to keep your clients informed, like a newsletter or direct phone calls. Another subtle but effective way to keep them informed is to get them to your website and keep them returning. How? By using your website when you work with them. For example, if you are working on a proposal or designing graphics, send your clients to your website and have them log in to a secure folder where their file awaits them. Another way to get clients to your site is to present your invoices to them online.
Now-a-days inexpensive tools are available – let’s call them “helper applications” – to let you invoice and share documents, so you do not need to spend time or money building them yourself. Some of these services also let you customize their appearance to suit your corporate identity. For invoice presentment and online payment, try 2ndSite – www.secondsite.biz. 2ndSite offers complete customization and plugins for VeriSign, PayPal and Quickbooks. It also comes with secure document management and offers a free account – much like Hotmail – that does not expire and is fully functional. For document management alone, try using Intranets – http://www.intranets.com. Should you wish your clients to simply pay you online, and your company is not particular about its corporate identity, PayPal (http://www.paypal.com) now offers some customization on their PayPage.
Whether you use these tools or not, if you are going to draw your clients to your site, be sure to capitalize. Make sure your home page clearly conveys the latest news concerning your company and/or a case study. This is also a good time to present an online survey to your clients, as clients are more likely to take the time to fill out a survey if they feel they know you and have a vested interest in your ongoing success. Other useful resources include industry news, comparison studies and white papers.
By using your website as a functional business resource – not just a marketing tool – you will get more out of your marketing efforts and ensure your clients know what products and services you provide. Besides the enhanced professionalism these “helper applications” provide, your clients will be up to date with your latest and greatest achievements. Armed with this knowledge they will get the opportunity to look smart when they tell their friends what you are up to, so everybody wins.
Michael McDerment has been offering Search Engine Marketing Consulting Services since 1999. He is the principal of Anicon.ca (http://www.anicon.ca) and guest lectures quarterly on Search Engine Marketing at Humber College in Toronto, Canada.
