How to cut marketing costs and efforts.

By James Chittenden

Let’s put more money in your pocket by increasing sales and keeping your marketing expenses either constant or decreasing. We do that by selling to customers you already have. Upselling current customers is the best way to cut marketing costs and efforts.

Did you know…

According to the Harvard Business Review

• Acquiring new customers for your business is anywhere from 5 to 25 times more costly than retaining an existing one.
• There is a 60% to 70% success selling rate to existing customers, and a 5% to 20% success selling rate to a new customer.
• Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.
• Average cost per lead across industries is $33 to $34.

How much should you spend on marketing?

Obviously, marketing budgets vary and some industries must spend more than others. But this is a good indicator of how much YOU should be spending on marketing as a percent of sales.

What does a lead cost?

Cost per lead varies by industry too. You are likely either in one of these industries, or selling to them. It is a good idea to know what they spend on leads, and their marketing budgets in general. For example, we can see in the above chart that healthcare companies spend on average 10 percent of their revenue on marketing, which is below average. However, the chart below shows that their cost of leads is above average at $37. Clearly their average customer brings is worth a lot to them. Could they improve their service in order to retain clients? You bet. This is why you see so many wellness programs. They are relatively inexpensive and contribute to customer sentiment. 

What are some ways to upsell current customers?

• Ask probing questions in anticipation of building a buyer persona. Refine your buyer persona. Only talk to people relevant to your target market. If you need clarity on what that is, HubSpot has a buyer persona generator .  
• Make customers into cheerleaders. Give them things they can use and profit from. Good content helps with that. What to write about? Once you have mastered some simple guidelines , this task becomes easy.
• Show care. Keep in touch and follow up. This is rarer than you think. 
• Think of all the ways you can upsell clients. Don’t start with your most expensive upsells. Try tiered selling.
• Explain why there are benefits to taking certain actions based on their pain points.
• E-mail marketing can provide a 3800 percent return on investment if done right!

E-mail marketing gifts for you

• We could all use a little education. Here is a free e-mail marketing course.
• You will need great subject lines, or else your e-mails will not be opened. Here are some good ones for you. 
• Cold e-mails are a little easier if they have been written for you. Here you go. 
• If you are prospecting, some high-converting, pre-written e-mails could come in handy. Try these.
• And finally, you need to sign off properly. Use this signature generator.

And finally…

Welcome to One Click Advisor! We would be remiss if we didn’t give you a brief tour of the site and what it can do for you. The free Business Builder is a consulting session, solving your business plan questions in minutes. Your challenges and opportunities can be sorted into one of three areas.

Marketing, because it brings in the customers. Start or continue that plan here.

Operations, because it keeps your customers. Start or continue that plan here.

Finance, because it is the scoreboard and because to keeps you paid. Change the “score” and explore financing here.

Upselling current customers is the best way to cut marketing costs and efforts.