New work comes in 4 different forms:

1. Selling existing products and services to existing customers
2. Selling existing products and services to new customers
3. Selling new products and services to existing customers and
4. Selling new products and services to new customers.

Check out Ansoff’s Matrix above: Image Sourced from here.

 

The key learnings from this model are as follows:

1. We usually overlook the fact that it is cheaper and easier to sell existing products and services to existing customers.  We have already built the relationship and it is less disruptive to our business.
2. We often fall into the trap of hunting for new business at the expense of our existing customers. Looking for new business is both costly and risky and, even worse, often comes at the expense of the service levels we are providing to our existing customers.
3. We sometimes find it easier to sell new products and services to new clients; normally because we don’t have a process to connect with our existing customers regularly to keep them up to date with our offering (not, as we often assume, that they are not interested).
4. The cheapest source of new business is referrals.  So all we need to do is focus on servicing our existing customers better and the new work should come to us.
5. Your marketing spend is far better channelled to existing customers as they will then become your strongest advocates – consider a referral rewards programme or running educational or social events to delight your customers.

So, before you go hunting for new business with new customers, have a very close look at how you are servicing your existing customers.

 

Do what you do so well that your customers will want to see it again, and bring their friends – Walt Disney