Page 83 - Entrepreneur-November 2018

HAVE A PROBLEM WE CAN SOLVE FOR YOU?
What’s Your Problem? TELL US AT HELPME@ENTREPRENEUR.COM

More Revenue,

Same Customers?

Before you launch a pricey marketing campaign to acquire new customers, take a close look at your
existing base and see how they can help you grow—for free. by ADAM BORNSTEIN

Trillion-dollar behemoths like your business, what messaging
Apple and Amazon add to their was effective, and what they
customer bases all the time, want more of. Detractors can
sure, but they’re also excellent help you understand where
at driving repeat purchases. you’re missing the mark, what
They’re not dating their cus- made them unhappy, and even
tomers; they’re marrying them. spot potential trends (psycho-
If you can do that—maximiz- graphic or demographic)
ing the lifetime value and reve- among unhappy customers.
nue per customer—then you’ll Then the real fun begins.
have achieved two of the most Cross-sell other products or
important things in business: offer discounts to your pro-
You’ll grow, and you’ll gain moters with the expectation
insights that will make it easier of converting at a higher per-
to find new consumers (and to centage, because you know
do it for less money). these people are believers in
So, how do you start? One of your business. You can also use
the best ways is through net their responses to fine-tune
promoter scores. Net promoter your sales techniques to attract
begins with a simple, often more people who are similar to
free-to-create email survey you your biggest advocates.
ask your customers to fill out. Likewise, you can win back
(If you want to increase the the detractors. Were they
likelihood of a response, we unhappy? Yes. Can you go
recommend incentivizing your the extra mile to show them
consumers—something as sim- they matter and earn brand
What’s the best way to ignite ple as giving away gift cards or redemption? Absolutely.
stalled revenue, especially if you discounts is an easy value Because now you know what
have a limited marketing budget? proposition to encourage went wrong.
—MIKE, COLORADO higher response rates.) The Either way—and we usu-
initial question is straightfor- ally recommend tackling
ward: “How likely is it that both audiences—you’ll be
you would recommend our armed with valuable data and
MIKE, I THINK a little dating thing you build to over time company/product/service to insights, a better relationship
advice might be what you need. with one person. But I like to a friend or colleague?” with your consumers, and
Many years ago, after my wed- think of business (and reve- Customers are asked to rank more sales fueling your growth.
ding, one of my single friends nue) in much the same way. If you from 1 to 10. Those who And you can achieve it all on a
jokingly asked, “How many someone likes your business rank you 9 to 10 are known as very limited budget.
women do you have to date or product, your only reaction “promoters”; those who score
before you find your wife?” shouldn’t be Let’s find another you 0 to 6 are “detractors.” (A Adam Bornstein is the founder
I responded by saying, “It’s customer. Instead, ask yourself, 7 or 8 score is neutral.) of Pen Name Consulting, a
not about how many girls you How do we do this again with After this initial question, marketing and branding
date; it’s about how many dates the same customer? the opportunities are numer- agency, and the creator of
you have with the girl.” Brand loyalty is the reason ous. From your promoters, you two12, a mentorship experi-
Obviously, marriage is some- today’s biggest businesses win. can figure out why they love ence for entrepreneurs.

36 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / November 2018 Illustration / FEDERICO GASTALDI