# 1 Strategy To Increase Sales and Profits

There are hundreds of opportunities sitting in your business RIGHT NOW that you haven’t tapped into and capitalized on.  I have them in my business too.

We get so busy in the day to day, that we often don’t take time to step back and look at our strategy and identify those opportunities.

So today I am going to give you a simple roadmap to do exactly that.  I will help you take a critical look at your brands’ interactions with your audience and customers, to find those opportunities you are missing, the holes you need to fill, where you are losing customers and sales, and how to resell to and keep customers, (which does WONDERS for your profits.)  Once you know how much more it actually costs to get a new customer than to keep an existing one, you know customer retention is important.

If you don’t know that stat, let me share them with you here.  It costs up to five times more to get a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. 

The success rate of selling a new product to an existing customer is 60 to 70% or as a new customer is only five to 20%. So you're much more likely resell something to an existing customer.

In this article, we are walking through your customers journey and identifying all the touchpoints they will have with your brand to make sure you are maximizing your opportunity at each step, and finding new opportunities to make more sales!

Touch points in your customer journey start well before they become a customer, as early as when they first become aware of your brand. And every touch point is an opportunity to make more sales, upsell, create a raving fan, keep a customer and more.

So let’s step outside of ourselves for a minute and put ourselves in your customers shoes and go for a walk.

When doing this exercise, you want to capture the entire journey from pre awareness, to customer service and beyond to post purchase and loyalty. So get a pen and paper ready and let’s build a road map to success!

Every business will have a different customer journey but here’s a list of potential touch points to get you started.

Awareness and Consideration Stage:

Some touchpoints in these two stages are obvious, like your social media, advertising, marketing or PR

But others you may not immediately think of, like: 

• your storefront as they pass by
• can you add signs to promote a special or highlight products in window displays?  

• your ratings reviews and testimonials
•  if you don’t have any get collecting them – that will help you sell to new customers

• word of mouth – what do they hear from trusted contacts?

• How about community involvement – do they see your brand sponsoring teams or supporting local causes? 
• if you sponsor a team can you cross promote, get info out to the parents and spectators – are you maximizing that partnership?

As they become a customer in the acquisition stage:

• The inside of your store or office location 
• do you have impulse purchase items at the point of sale or do you have seasonal items highlighted?

• Your website or catalog 
• is it up to date and can you improve it?

• The promotions you run or emails you send 
• are you using your email list?  Can you send a promotion out?

• Your email signature 
• do you have a link to your site, a call to action, or a banner about your latest promo?

• Your staff 
• from sales to customer service (do they promote an add on with each service

• Your phone system 

• Your point of sale system

• Your packaging
• could you charge a fee for upgraded packaging or gift packaging?

In the final stages as the existing customer moves through the journey with you through service and loyalty stages:

• Billing or invoicing
• is there a second product they may naturally want you could promote on the invoice for the first purchase?

• More emails

• Service or after care teams

• How they contact you for help

• Referral program
•  can you reward them for referring new customers?

• Reward program

• Shipping system and notifications
•  another opportunity to sell the next item

• Thank you cards

• Renewal process – make it easy

There are many more potential touch points than this, but this will get you started as you walk through your own customer journey.

The first step is to create the map and lay it all out.

The next step is to look at each step and identify any areas that you can see are not efficient, customer friendly, or are missed opportunities.

At the same time, you should be looking at each step to make sure that interaction is consistent with the brand message you want to convey.

So, let’s take a few of the touchpoints I mentioned, and break down what you are looking for.

Let’s start with your website as an early touchpoint.  You want to look at your website as a customer would:

• When the homepage opens is it clear what your company does?  
• Does the site convey the right image?  
• Does it load quickly and is it easy to navigate?  
• What info are most visitors looking for?  
• Is it easy to find that info?  

That covers some of the branding and customer service angles now let’s look at it with a sales and marketing lens:

• Is the website capturing the visitors information?  
• Is there a clear call to action?  
• Does it show off the products and services you want to highlight right now?  
• Will it motivate the potential customer to buy from you?  
• How can you improve it?

Let’s examine the touchpoint of when they first become a customer and call you for service. What does that touchpoint look like?  

• How do they find your contact information?  
• When they call what does the automated messaging sound like?  
• Is it easy to navigate? 
• When they get a live operator what is the greeting?  
• How are those staff motivated to give the best service?  
• What are your customer service policies? 
• Could you add an upsell to your phone message or get information from them on the call you can use later to sell them another service?  
• You get the idea.

There are five things to examine at each touchpoint:

1. Ease of use
2. Conveys intended brand message
3. Motivates to desired action
4. Maximizes opportunities
5. “Wow” potential - What can I add at this step that is an unexpected extra, something that will improve the customer experience and help turn them into raving fans?  

Think about customer service you have received that really impressed you, an unexpected gift with purchase, or when a hotel chain keeps your pillow preference on file for your next visit at one of their properties.  

How about when the customer service agent takes your information and then calls you back once they have solved the problem for you so you don't have to sit on hold?  

Or the car wash place that offers free vacuums after you go through the car wash?  

Or the hand signed birthday card and small gift you got in the mail from your dentist?

Small gestures can make a big difference and if you can sprinkle these types of “Wow” moments along the customer journey, you will have an unstoppable sales team of happy customers out in the world helping you grow your business.

Grab a pen and some paper and take that walk through of your customer journey, find the challenges and the opportunities and make a plan!

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