The 1 customer you have vs. the 2 you want

One of the older marketing adages is that the one customer you have is worth two you don’t. The idea behind this is pretty simple. The adage is premised on some basic facts which many firms choose to forget in their drive for greater revenues.

It costs money and resources to market and sell to a prospect. You already have a client in whom you already invested the money to acquire and who is now providing revenue. Too many firms acquire clients, then neglect them in order to focus resources on acquiring additional ones. In turn, the existing clients get disgusted and move on.

The lesson is simple: don’t divert resources that will keep a present company happy in order to find a second one. Sadly, this truism is too often honored in the breach by small and large companies alike.

But, as your small firm tries to grow, it can be difficult to practice this and you may be often tempted to shift some operational resources from maintaining that relationship in order to get new clients. So, what is really the solution when you want to grow your client base, but not stretch your resources so thin that you just end up stepping onto a treadmill where you add a new customer, and lose an old one?

The answer lies in a strong marketing and sales enablement program. When you automate the mundane you get time for what’s really important, such as adding new clients to your client base.

Next week we will discuss the must-haves of a good marketing and sales enablement program. Stay posted.