Here’s one of my favorite definitions of the marketing process:
“Marketing is the buying and selling of things with good will at a profit. If you can only have one, take good will because it is tomorrow’s profit.”
Your clients need to build relationships with their customers. They want to keep customers happy because:
- The lifetime value of a customer is a large number. A customer who spends just $20 a week will spend $1,000 in a year and $30,000 or more over a lifetime.
- Repeat customers are happy customers who tend to increase their purchases each year, recommend your client’s business to others, step up to more deluxe products that yield a higher margin.
- The cost of acquiring new customers is very high.
The first step in keeping customers is finding out why you lose them. Lost customers can tell you exactly what parts of your business you must improve.
When we help our clients to measure their ROI, we need to walk them through the process of figuring out what it will take to pay for their advertising one time and what the lifetime value of those new customers might be. Consistent advertising will encourage new customers to walk in the door. Our clients must then convert them into long-term customers.
Happy, satisfied customers tell others about their experiences. Our clients’ advertising can mushroom exponentially. Sales grow. We need to prepare our clients for this process so that we may hear, “My advertising is working” from our clients.
About The Author
Pat Bryson is the founder of Bryson Broadcasting International, a consulting firm that works with radio stations around the world to increase revenue by raising the skill level of their sales staffs. Her client list spans from the United States to Canada, Europe and Central Asia.
Pat has spent her entire career creating a culture of over-achievement for her stations. She began her career in radio sales, becoming one of the highest billing sales people in her market. Her career advanced to General Sales Manager, and then to Market Manager. Since starting BBI 7 years ago, she has helped hundreds of radio stations to find, train and grow great quality sales people and managers.
Pat was the recipient of two prestigious educational fellowships from the Educational Foundation of the National Association of Broadcasters: a fellowship to the Executive Development Program and a fellowship to the Broadcast Leadership Training Program.
She publishes the Bryson Broadcasting International Newsletter twice monthly and is a contributor to Valerie Geller’s latest book, Beyond Powerful Radio: A Communicator’s Guide To The Internet Age.
You may contact Pat at [email protected] or visit her website at http://www.patbryson.com.