New Customers Only?... "I think not," says Ian Tomlins at Concept

There’s nothing quite like a recession to set us sales people on new offensives, firing on all cylinders as we hunt down new business with powerful promotions and other strategic campaigns. This is all very understandable – panic is setting in and we want to make sure that we fire the first shots and take the most clients as the stakes become higher.

The danger with focusing on attack, however, is that it potentially leaves your defences compromised. While you may be bringing in new captives all the time, what’s to say those clients previously considered to be tightly tethered haven’t gradually loosened their ties, become ambivalent and tired, ready to make their escape when the right opportunity presents itself?

Industry figures show that customer retention rates lurk around 45% and the cost of attracting a new customer is in many multiples of thousands, so as sales people we are not making best use of our time and talents by focusing too heavily on new business alone.

What this basically means is that, as rapidly as you’re snapping up your rivals’ customers, the chances are that your competitors, in turn, are nurturing and luring your own. Which means everyone is paying more to do less business….Nuts, isn’t it?

Recession or no recession, our goal at Concept is to form a defensive strategy, get close to our customers, rein in tired or ambivalent customers, help them to get more from our products and establish a long term loyal base that in itself is the best way to attract new business.