Adding new customers in your current market is often the single most impactful action firms can take to increase revenue. That’s because every new customer brings exponential growth potential in the form of follow-on sales, cross-selling/up-selling opportunities and referrals to new prospects.
Yet new customer acquisition in a core market is no easy task. Companies everywhere struggle with it for reasons that include the high cost of change from an incumbent vendor, poor targeting, weak value propositions and propositions misaligned with customer values.
So what’s the fix? How do the best companies close more business more quickly? In working with and studying top performing companies, there are 7 primary ways in which businesses consistently acquire new customers within their core markets. Each one of these solutions can have an enormous impact on a companies’ ability to grow revenue over the long term.
1. Segment the market based on buyer behaviors and values in addition to demographics.
2. Target “sweet spots” in the market.
3. Use more lead generation techniques and find better ways to nurture prospects who aren’t ready to buy.
4. Clearly define responsibility for “hunting” and provide the support and incentives required to maximize hunter effectiveness.
5. Be a strategic solution seller and build relationships at the right customer organizational level.
6. Sharpen the message.
7. Improve the win rate for new prospects.