5 Incredible Ways to Sell More to Current Customers With Action Steps

The activities to acquire new customers are always the number one priority for your small business. That’s the fact! However, do you use the potential of existing customers on the maximum possible level? You need to sell more to current customers.

Existing customers have already built a high level of trust in your business, and in such a way, it is much easier for you to sell to existing customers than to someone who does not yet know your business. On the other hand, acquiring new customers is usually 5-10 times more expensive than retaining existing ones.

Because of that, one of the most critical tasks of entrepreneurs is to spend some of their energy on acquiring new customers. These new customers will contribute to the business growth. But, at the same time, they need to spend another part of the energy developing more creative ways to sell more to current customers.

So, the question is, how can you sell more to current customers? Here are some ideas and techniques that you can use in this process.

1. Redesign Your Business Model to Sell More to Current Customers

The purpose of rethinking your business model is to find opportunities in some regions of your business model that you can change from current transactional relationships to long-term ones.

With the transactional relationship with your customers, they come, buy something, and never make any other relation to your business again. On the other side, with the long-term relationship with your customers in your business model, they will come, buy something, then again buy something, contact your company, come again, repurchase something, etc.

If you succeed in implementing this change in your business model, you can come up with the following:

• Opportunities for discovering new revenue streams. Often without looking into the details of your business model with its overall environment, you will not be able to see the opportunities the market already offers you.
• Opportunities for introducing complementary products (generally with another one that will increase average transaction value among your current customers).

Here is what you can do when it comes to your business model:

1. Add mode value to your products and services.

Think about the value you are offering. Are there some things you can improve? You want to expand your current offerings to meet your customer’s needs and stay relevant in your market.

2. Improve your business model channels and customer relationships.

You need to improve the customer experience. See what you can improve related to channels and customer relationships. You want to ensure you are giving an easy way for customers to interact with your company. Don’t underestimate the power of loyalty programs to capitalize on repeat purchases. Also, invest in extraordinary customer service.

Related: How to Develop and Improve Your B2B Sales Processes

3. Improve your revenue model.

Your revenue model is something that generates revenue for your company. So, analyze your current model and see if you can improve something. You can add subscription services, upselling, and cross-selling offerings to motivate customers to purchase additional products or services at discounts.

2. Keep a Good Relationship With Your Current Customers

Although it is not easy for first-time purchases of your new customers to ask them to give you contact details, many creative ways will help you succeed. If nothing else, anyone who repeats a purchase has some confidence in your business, and it’s real-time to start building much more profound relationships with them.

You can use email, phone, letters, social media, and many other means to build a different relationship with your customers. They can provide you with an easy communication process with your customers.

However, one thing is essential: don’t try to sell immediately. Contact them, but without pressure. Nobody wants pressure.

Here is what you can do when it comes to keeping good relationships with your customers:

1. Ensure you are always where your customers are.

You need to know where your targeted customers and customers with the right purchase intent are and then ensure that you will always be there. If they are on some social media platform, be there. If they are in the local cafe, ensure to be there. You can not build strong customer relationships without a presence where your targeted customers are.

2. Develop all necessary listening processes

If you want to sell more to your current customers, you must ensure you have all the necessary listening processes. Why do you need to be present where your customers are if you don’t listen to their feedback and use it to build better customer relationships?

The listening processes will also help you improve your offerings, products, and services. In such a way, you will build better customer relationships and start selling more to your current customers.

3. Engage with all of your customers

If you want to get repeat purchases from your current customers, you must ensure that you will stay in touch with them. It doesn’t matter how much they have spent on your business. Your job is always to remind them of your existence.

What are the four steps which will help you engage more with existing customers?

1. You need to be transparent and share all critical information with your current customers related to everything important to them. You can create a membership site as a club of the best customers to give them more support and services.
2. Keep the list of customers updated and send them regular email newsletters with information about product updates, discounts, and helpful blog articles.
3. Help them solve some problems if you have a solution for them, even if it is unrelated to your business. In such a way, you will build better credibility for your business in their eyes.
4. Always show appreciation by recognizing their support and expressing gratitude because they are doing business with you.

3. Implement Upselling and Cross-selling Strategies to Sell More to Current Customers

1. Upselling

Upselling is a sales technique where you will offer more expensive products to increase the average transaction value from that specific customer when purchasing something.

The goal is to increase the average order value by encouraging customers to spend more on a more expensive product or service.

This technique aims to get the maximum from each transaction in your business, increasing the average purchase value by stimulating customers to spend more with a more expensive premium product or service. You can use it by asking a question like:

• Would you like to try our turbo burger?
• Would you like to buy this one product to get one year of free technical support?
• Before we close the deal, would you like to get our premium product at X% discounted rate?

Related: How To Reach Your Target Audience and Sell Your Product

2. Cross-selling

On the other side, cross-selling is a sales strategy where you offer customers complementary products or services that will add value to what they are already purchasing. Using this strategy, you want to increase the number of purchased products by the customer.

However, if you want maximum utilization of the cross-selling technique, you must make it something expected. For example, if someone already bought the turbo sandwich, he is not expected to get another one, but he will expect to have an offer with a drink.

4. Use Promotions Only for Current Customers to Sell More to Them

You can use promotions for current customers when your sales numbers are at the highest possible level. This can be a really powerful strategy.

Every business has periods of the year, months, or days when demand for those products or services is not at the levels it should be. For example, if you sell seasonal products, your sales will climb in non-seasonal times.

Sometimes your customers stop buying from you because of some reason. However, with one contact with your current customers with the promotional offer, you can succeed in increasing your sales numbers over such a period of time.

Here is what you need to do here when it comes to promotions for only your current customers:

• Exclusive promotions only for current customers. You can offer exclusive promotions only for current customers, such as special discounts, early access to new products, membership in VIP clubs, and so on.
• Develop a referral program. Is there anything more efficient than using satisfied customers to promote your products and services? So, you need to use referral programs to motivate your current customers to promote your products. You can offer them specific rewards like discounts for successful referrals.
• When you implement this strategy, always use limited-time promotions. One-time offers and limited-time offers create a sense of urgency for your customers. So, many of them will like to utilize the promotion. 

5. Don’t Forget to Show Everything That You Offer to Sell More to Current Customers

Although we live in times where everyone is hurrying, an attempt to show that you can offer more than the current transaction is an excellent opportunity to increase the specific transaction with specific customers. You can’t lose anything.

Question: Do you have experience using these techniques to increase sales for your business from current customers? Share your experience with us.