– by Craig Wilson
Most marketing and business growth strategies are very much focused on the front end of the transactional journey; lead generation and new clients.
Nearly everyone focuses on, and invests heavily in, what happens in the lead up to getting a new client.
Likewise, most marketing advice is the same. It’s all about attracting new leads and clients, and there are thousands and thousands of agencies and consultants waiting to help you with this.
But, it’s very rare that a business would look for potential growth opportunities on the post-sale relationship. The obvious choice is always: racing to find new people, running the ads and conversions and then chipping away at them until they, hopefully, buy something.
The reality is that there are so many opportunities and roles within the after-sale experience, and you can potentially generate get a much bigger Return On Investment with almost no additional cost. But first you have to see the bigger picture.
Consider this….
When somebody buys something from you and they get a great after-sale experience – after they have already given you money – that person is probably going to buy from you again and again and again.
Even better, if on top of their great experience, you ensure they have a nice transition into the post sale experience, they are probably going to become a lifetime client and refer other people to you as well.
Now, if you work in a consulting or service drive business, then the post sale period is one of the great opportunities for you to study. That’s because not many people are focused on this area. All the energy and competition is happening before the sale.
There is a lot of competition for top-of-funnel marketing, Facebook ads, search advertising and other forms of lead generation. But, when it comes to the impact of providing after-sale service, nurturing lifetime relationships, and orchestrating referrals there is virtually no competition at all.
Yet, the rewards are potentially so much bigger in maximising the lifetime value of a client.
Let’s face it; if you work in business-to-business, then what you do is helping other businesses grow in one way or another. Concentrating on the post sale experience can be the lowest hanging fruit that’s invisible to most.
This means that if you can prove in a measurable way that your product or service provides real impact, at virtually no extra “marketing spend”, then you will significantly increase the lifetime value of a customer and have many more customers lined up at your door wanting to do business with you.
You’ve already done the very hard work of attracting them and winning their initial business, now you just need to take some time to invest in your post sale experience. Allocate some of your creativity and marketing efforts to turning clients into enthusiastic fans.
It will likely be the most important and rewarding marketing you will ever do.
Ready to maximise your opportunities? Our Growth Marketing Accelerator is designed to deliver you real marketing results, faster. Read more here and let us know if you’d like to talk.
