How to Create and Keep a Database of New Customers …. at Low Cost (part one)

Let us examine a real live scenario here in Auckland, New Zealand, in which an entrepreneur created a business from scratch, franchised it …and then sold it for a healthy profit.

The business was essentially a lunch delivery business. He arranged with a courier company to ask their drivers to politely inquire at delivery sites if they could fax to them …a lunch list. The courier company was harvesting fax numbers so the entrepreneur could deliver lunches to businesses.

The courier company did it for free as they were getting new business, delivering lunches. Therefore, the business was a winner on three accounts …we have a happy courier company, entrepreneur and the workers were getting hassle free delivered lunches.

How does the above example relate to a computer repair business? The great idea behind the lunch delivery business …was the harvesting of fax numbers at no cost and quickly building a database of customers. What we need is a similar great idea to build a database at no or low cost.

What is required is a good reason to get to our targeted customers. Sure, you can slap an ad in the Yellow Pages or local newspaper …but that is going to cost a lot of money.

In addition, it isn’t going to solve the problem of when business is quiet. Advertising computer repairs in quiet times is a losers game …this is when you are throwing money away.

The Yellow Pages is a passive way of marketing and won’t get the phone ringing in quiet times …as you are totally dependant on your customer, picking up the phone.

So how do you “kick-start” your repair business to get cash coming through the door? What you need is a good excuse to get to your customers in the slack periods.

Let us investigate direct marketing methods. You can drum up business in four ways: phone, fax, email and post.

We don’t want to ring and directly ask for business as that means red faces and awkwardness …nobody likes ringing and begging for business. That leaves us with email, fax or snail mail.

How can we use these ways to get to our customers? What you need is some sort vehicle or delivery device to get you through the front door.

The Trojans used a wooden horse to get into Troy and we can essentially use the same method to deliver our message. Our technique is going to be a constant contact newsletter.

A well written newsletter may be the most ideal way in the world to market a business. What you have is a useful channel of communication between the business and client. This channel can connect you to clients for years and reap a very productive business relationship at low cost.

The real secret to any direct marketing method is to first obtain permission. "How on earth do you get permission to send advertising?"

What you need is a good excuse to contact potential new and existing customers. One way excellent way of achieving this ...is to offer good quality information ...for free. With the mailout you can include your advertising.

"How do you go about getting permission to send faxes or email?" If you have the necessary equipment, the job becomes easy.

With existing customers there is no problems as you can ask them in the normal run of business. When you are next on the job ask them if you can keep them up to date with the latest money saving developments in the IT world.

By keeping in touch with your existing customers you make sure your business is always remembered.

The best way to contact new customers is to ring them. "Oh no, telemarketing, I can't do that," I hear you say! ...If you have high quality information, the job becomes a breeze.

It would go something like this when phoning, "We produce a monthly IT newsletter that goes out to businesses in the city/town. Can I send you a free trial, please?" By using this method, you can quickly build a customer list.

How can a newspaper or Yellow Pages marketing compare as a marketing system? A constant contact newsletter is a brilliant low cost marketing device for a computer repair business.