Did you know it's about FIVE times more expensive, on average, to win a new client than it is to retain an existing one? So, how many of you allocate a good portion of your marketing budget to client retention?

What have you done for your clients lately?

You sent Holiday cards… No? Perhaps you sent the warm and friendly, “Have a Happy Holiday” notation on the bottom of their December invoice.

When you consider how tough it is to win a new client, add to that the importance of good customer testimonials; courting your existing clients with the same fervor, if not more, seems like a no-brainer. But, few of us do.

I’d like to hear from you. What marketing effort do you have in place that focuses on your clients?

A Harvard Business Review article titled “Getting the Most Out of All Your Customers" analyzed and reported on the marketing budgets of business-to-business service firms. The authors asked, "How much of a service firm's marketing dollars should be spent on new client acquisition versus how much should be allocated to current client retention?"

While they didn’t give a blanket, across-the-board-response, the conclusion was a “significant portion” of the marketing budget should be allocated to client retention. Even though this principal is especially true for those of us in the service business, the principal holds true in other businesses as well.

Keep in mind marketing cannot improve customer service or market share, retention marketing efforts can improve customer loyalty and “mind”share - which can buy you time when you need to do some fancy footwork as things don’t always go as expected.

How much of your marketing budget is spent on retention marketing?

Spend some time thinking about your best clients –the clients that not only buy a lot from you but those who also buy a little, but buy often, as well as those who buy a little, but always pay on time and are happy with their purchase. Take your blinders off and acknowledge how important these clients are to your business and allocate your budget accordingly. In spending less on attracting new clients and more on retaining existing clients, you’ll see your revenues go up, not down.

So, be BOLD. Invest in your clients.

Service businesses are very different from product businesses, especially when it comes to marketing. Marketing for the Service Professional: Attend a 90 minute lunch-and-learn program about marketing for the service professional. Learn how to effectively promote your services and your special expertise. Participants will work through the internal and external characteristics of a successful marketing / self-promotion plan to meet the unique requirements of a service business.

At the workshop you will create an outline for your own business' strategic promotion plan that you can take action on immediately.

Wednesday, February 28; 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 pm. $50

Call Lynnelle at 207-221-3492 to register or for more information. www.boldvisionconsulting.com

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