Trying to figure out how to increase your revenue as a small business owner? The answer likely lies in finding out how to increase revenue from existing customers and clients.
There are many ways to improve revenue, ranging from simple changes to complex sales funnels. The first step when trying to increase revenue streams for your business is to take it back to the three fundamental revenue growth strategies.
Why Targeting Existing Clients is Best To Increase Your Revenue
One of the most common questions I’m asked is how to increase revenue from existing customers, and it’s for a good reason. Two of the three fundamental growth strategies are centred around your current client base. It’s so much easier to sell to somebody who already knows and trusts your business, which is why it’s a good strategy to retain existing clients before searching for new ones.
If you’ve already got runs on the board with a customer, it’s easier to convince them to buy from you again. As long as they were satisfied with your product or service they’re more likely to buy from you again. And it’s far more cost-effective to convince existing customers to make a repeat purchase than it is to gain a new customer.
The added bonus is once you’ve built a relationship with your customers, they’ll often let their friends and others know how happy they are with your product or service.
Growth Strategies To Increase Your Revenue
By taking a look at the three fundamental growth strategies that help you grow your revenue, you’ll start to see why focusing on your existing client or customer base is so important.
Customers first need to trust you in order to buy from you. Once you’ve established a level of trust with your existing customers, it makes sense to build on it and maximise it. Customers should be nurtured, not taken for granted. You can easily lose the trust you’ve established if you don’t work on the customer relationship.
Let’s take a look at how to improve revenue in super broad terms.
Maintaining Revenue From Current Customers
We’ll start with the most overlooked way to annually increase your revenue: maintaining what you already have. This refers to businesses that have recurring customers or clients who are buying less and less with every transaction. The goal is to keep them coming back at the same rate.
Finding ways to better satisfy your existing customers so they want to buy from you again is incredibly valuable. Providing a good customer experience can turn a one-off buyer into a loyal, repeat customer.
Providing your customers with additional value maintains their trust and keeps them loyal.
Expanding Revenue From Current Customers
Once you have loyal customers that continuously come back at the same rate, it’s time to up the ante. This is where you upsell to your existing customers to increase your revenue overall, selling more to customers who already know and trust your brand.
Remember loyal customers should be rewarded. Incentives and exclusive offers can be a great way to sell more and also provide value to your repeat customers.
Winning Revenue From New Customers
The most difficult growth strategy is to win new work from new customers. This requires targeted marketing and a great sales funnel to convert cold leads, making this the most time and resource consuming strategy.
Before you win revenue from new customers you need to earn trust. And that process can take both time and effort. Although winning new customers is still important, nurturing your existing customers is a much easier and faster way to increase your revenue.
How To Increase Revenue From Existing Clients
So, how do you find out how to retain customers and how to increase revenue from existing customers?
As a small business owner, I’ve tried many different ways to increase revenue from my customers. Some more successfully than others. But all strategies came from a place of good intention for my customers. None were about cutting corners or maximising revenue without providing value.
Here are twelve proven ways to retain customers and increase your revenue at very little cost to your business.
1. Bundle Your Products & Service
Make it easy for your customers or clients to spot a bargain and realise that they want more than one of your products or services at once. Bundles allow you to sell more within one transaction while your customers or clients get more bang for their buck.
The purpose of bundling is to generate higher revenue, lower your operational costs and improve profits.
How you bundle your products or services is limitless. But it’s important you focus on the customer when creating your bundles. Customers want to feel like you understand their needs. Your bundles should be thoughtful and convenient. They shouldn’t just be products you want to offload or services that provide little value.
2. Upsell and Cross-sell
The same goes for upsells. At multiple points throughout any transaction, promote your other products or services as add-ons. The key here is to be strategic. Upsell products that pair well with their chosen product, or services that complement each other.
Upselling and cross-selling to customers is a great opportunity for you to further cement the customer relationship. By focusing on meeting your customer needs, you’re more likely to entice your customers to convert to the extra or improved option.
3. Speak Directly To Your Customers
Email marketing is one of my go-to recommendations when asked how to increase business revenue. It gives you a free way to reach out to your customers or clients on a personal level, offer them discounts and deals, and thank them for their loyalty.
Your website can also be a great way to engage directly with your customer. Speak in the first person and provide concise information that benefits your customer.
4. Keep Sharing Content With Them
You need to give a little to get a little. For people to love and support your brand, they will first need a reason to trust you. Build that trust by posting content and adding value beyond just what you supply through your products or services.
You want to be front of mind, but you don’t want to be spammy. Sharing knowledge that helps your customers succeed goes a long way to help build a connection with your customer. They’ll see you as an expert they trust. And then they’ll be much more likely to buy from you.
5. Solve More of Your Client’s Problems
What problem does your product or service solve for your clients or customers? Chances are there is another problem your target audience is facing that you can also solve. Find out what that problem is and develop new products or services to offer as the solution.
Listening to your customers is the best way to identify their problems. Creating a short survey, setting up a live chat or giving them opportunity for feedback with a follow up email are all simple ways to find out what your customer’s pain points are.
6. Reward Their Loyalty
Who wants to be in a one-way relationship? Give your customers a reason to want to support you! Offer them valuable information, exciting deals, loyalty points, and exclusive early access to new products or services. Reward their loyalty so that they know how much you value them.
Customers who feel appreciated are far more likely to talk positively about you. Loyal customers not only buy more, they buy more regularly.
7. Offer Referral Kickbacks
One of the best ways to increase revenue in a business is to encourage referrals. People are much more likely to buy from you if someone they know personally recommends your product or service, so offer your existing customers an incentive for their recommendations.
Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tools. And there’s no better way to spread the word than from people who actually love what you provide.
8. Adjust Your Pricing
Pricing your products or services can be tricky. If you set prices too high you could miss out on sales. Set them too low and you won’t be maximising your revenue.
This is one area where it’s worth doing your homework. Plucking a number out of the air won’t cut it. You need to make sure you’re factoring in your expenses as well as understanding the sensitivity of your offering to market fluctuations.
9. Enhance Your Client’s Experience
Delivering a great customer experience is one of the most important considerations for any business. The better experience you provide your customers, the more likely they are to return. The flow on effect will mean positive reviews and no need to deal with messy complaints.
Customer service is just one part of the customer experience. You should consider your customer’s overall journey and all interactions they have with your business.
10. Prove Your Brand is The Expert
Creating content that offers knowledge, insight, and guidance to existing and potential customers will help demonstrate your expertise and authority in what you do.
Sharing your expertise (free of charge) will not only build a rapport with your customers, it will also instill in them a sense of trust. When they’re ready to buy, they will turn to you.
11. Run an Event
Running an event can strengthen your brand as well as your bottom line. They’re a great way to deepen connections with your audience. Plus they can diversify revenue if they’re done right.
Keep in mind though, that events take time to plan. There are often multiple components to organising an event. And the follow up with your customers afterward to capitalise on all the hard work is just as important.
My Women in Business Retreat is a great example of how this can work.
12. Ask For Help
If you’re still not sure how to increase revenue from existing customers, ask them.
Run surveys and collect feedback on what you could do to make their life and user experience better. You’d be surprised at the insightful advice you can get from simply asking how you can help.
Where to From Here
Targeting your existing clients is the most efficient and effective way to grow your revenue. An existing customer will be more likely to buy from you, so ensuring their first experience is a good one is paramount.
If you want to find out more about how to increase your revenue from existing clients, get in touch.
Get advice from someone who has created not 1 but 2 successful 6-figure businesses. We can chat about your goals, struggles and how I can help you as your business consultant/coach.
