A Quick Way To Get New Customers

October 8th, 2008 · No Comments

There is an excellent way to quickly get new customers.

Look for vendors and businesses in other fields who offer their products or services to the same customer base you do. Think about the things your customers need and buy that you do not offer. Approach these businesses with a compelling offer of affiliation to market to one another’s customers.

An example from my case study file was an attorney specializing in small businesses and an accounting firm that had many small business clients. They teamed up for the accounting firm to offer a free 30-minute consultation with the attorney about any business or tax legal question.

If there appeared to be an important legal issue beyond simple questions, the attorney would make suggestions about how it should be pursued. Because there were no strings attached, the client could follow-up with any attorney of the client’s choosing.

However, since the know-like-trust process–the relationship process–had already been started with this attorney, a high percentage of the businesses chose to retain and continue the process with the attorney who had given them good advice at no charge.

The business client got a free but valuable gift from the accountant; the attorney got exposure to a client base he wished to reach with the endorsement of the accountant; and the accountant got to offer his clients a very valuable gift–the opportunity to have a free legal visit to ask questions he or she might not have otherwise had the opportunity to seek.

There are numerous examples of just such valuable customer or client sharing opportunities that are limited only by your imagination.

Look at the nail salons, photographers, banks, hair salons, boutiques, optometry clinics, and now physician’s offices in Wal-Marts and supermarkets.

Think about some of these affiliate relationships:

1. Veterinary clinics and someone offering yard fencing and pet security services

2. Lawn maintenance services and house painters, plumbers, home remodelers, electricians, roofers, power washers, or any combination of these

3. Physicians and health spas

4. Wedding planners and caterers, photographers, or videographers

5. Coffee shops and musical groups, portrait painters, or bakeries

And list goes on and on.

This is a very powerful technique that is simultaneously relatively inexpensive and a powerful business builder.

So, look for any similar affiliation you can think of for your business.

To your business success!