The Best Source for New Business

When business is booming, a lot of business owners won't spend money on marketing. They assume that since they're getting the referrals and business is good, it doesn't make sense to spend money on marketing.

Once business begins to slow down, they go through a "fire drill" in an attempt to bring in new business. They may start advertising or sending out mailers, and then complain they are getting little to no business from their marketing. Why is this the case? Because they haven't created brand awareness through a consistent marketing program.

If you are currently in this boat, you may be looking for creative ways to bring in new business. It will take some time before advertisements will begin to perform well. In the meantime, the best source for new business is your existing customer database. Take a good look at your database. How many customers no longer come to you? Are your active customers sending you referrals?

Once you go through and separate your database into categories, develop a program to reach out to each one. You may want to send a letter to inactive customers and give them an offer if they try your business again. For active customers, ask for a referral. There are a lot of ways to reach out and re-initiate contact. The key to making this work is to be consistent and frequent in your contact.