Mining Your Database for New Business

I had an interesting conversation with an owner of a roofing company this past week. I was leading a seminar for a local home builders association and the conversation was about the best way to find new business. I explained that it is 80% less expensive to get past customers to buy from you than to find new customers. It is also easier to get past customers to purchase from you because, assuming you did a good job last time, they already know you and know the quality of your work.

The owner of the roofing company raised his hand and asked how this concept could apply to him since most people only replace their roof every 15 or 20 years. He has a good point. What do you do when your product or service has a long “itch cycle,” which is the time between when someone normally replaces a product?

You still need to stay in contact with those clients because they have friends, family, neighbors and other people they talk to and you want them to recommend you to those people. I suggested that he start an annual inspection program of all his old jobs where he would inspect the roof and provide a written assessment of the condition. He could also make any minor repairs such as a lost shingle and clean the gutters. After completing the inspection, he could drive around the neighborhood and put a flyer in the paper boxes stating “we just completed our annual inspection of the Jones’ roof and it is still in great condition and looks as good as new. If you have any conce
s about your roof, we would be glad to give a free, no obligation inspection.”

This marketing program is minimal in cost compared to most traditional marketing programs and it is targeting a neighborhood where you have a strong testimonial from a happy client and has a high likelihood of roofs needing repair work.

Every business needs to collect information about their customers to be able to remain in contact with them. According to a Harvard Business study, the main reason customers stop purchasing from a business is perceived indifference. Perceived indifference means that our customers don’t think we care about them anymore. This is due to our lack of follow-up and contact between purchases and our constant focus on getting a new sale. Once we close the deal we move on to the next one. Our past customers should be the largest portion of our continuing sells and also our source for most of our new business. What we business owners need to do is to make doing business with us so different, unique and memorable that our customers only want to buy from us and they will tell everyone they know to do business with us too.

So, how do we do that? I believe we do it by not trying to be better than the competition but to be remarkably different. How many roofers do you know that offer annual inspections and to clean your gutters while they are up on your roof? Would you recommend a roofer that did that to your neighbors and friends? I would. This type of buying experience is what can make your company stand out above the rest. I have seen companies that have very little traditional marketing because they have built a strong “word of mouth” reputation in the community.

When was the last time you talked to your past customers? If it has been over a year, then you need to reach out to them. A database of customers that have not been talked to in a year is ripe for the competition to steal. Don’t let that happen!! It is much too expensive to rebuild.

Remember, they are your customers. They like and trust you because you have already done business with them. You are the most likely person to get their business in the future. Reach out to them this week.