1. Train employees on your company’s competitive differences and teach them creative ways to spread their knowledge when talking with prospects and customers.
2. Take advantage of networking opportunities in your local community and stay close to your customers. Look for opportunities to volunteer on committees, share information, sponsor or speak at an event.
3. Send personalized thank you notes to customers to show appreciation for their business.
4. Try something new, such as creating a blog, Facebook page, Youtube video, monthly newsletter or subscribing to a new magazine for creative ideas and industry insight.
5. Promote a contest to build your customer and prospect database and draw people to visit your website.
6. Step up quality control on marketing materials to ensure you create favorable impressions.
7. Offer value-added services like payment plans, preferred customer discounts, and bonus buys.
8. Update your employee bios with information related to each person’s expertise and add interesting photos.
9. Survey your audience to learn about their needs and product interests, refine competitive differentiators, and learn about areas that need improvement.
10. Identify your biggest customers and what vertical markets they are in. Visit their websites and learn more about their history, products, and services.
11. View your website/product/service through the eyes of a new, potential customer.
12. Identify one person who could give your company more exposure, and who might be personally motivated to do so.
13. Come up with one thing that might increase conversion rates by 1%.
14. Collect 10 pieces of empirical evidence about why customers decided to purchase from your company. Then find 10 pieces on why customers didn’t.
15. Do one thing to prove to the world why you are an expert in your field.
16. Identify one mundane, time-consuming task to outsource. It will open up time for more meaningful tasks.
17. Defer something you’re working on now that isn’t really necessary now. Evaluate your priorities.
18. Identify anything you’re doing because of a “plan” rather than hard evidence.
19. Identify choices that don’t “feel” like the right thing to do.
20. Update your home page to be more specific in describing how you help your customers.
21. Give your customers something wonderful. Give it for free.
22. Congratulate yourself and your employees on the good aspects of your business.
23. Do something to invest in your customers’ experience after the sale.
24. Take on a project that you could complete in a week, and ought to, but you’ve continued to procrastinate.
25. Call customers even if there is no work in production. It takes the “sales” out of sales call.
26. Keep in touch with helpful, business-related e-mail. It’s less intrusive than calling.
27. Look into direct mailing. Simple postcard campaigns are effective in reaching your customers.
28. Offer plant tours to a small group of clients from time to time.
29. Invite customers to ask questions on your website.
30. Send articles and news releases to customers. It shows you are keeping them relevant.
31. Host an open house once in awhile to celebrate any occasion and bring customers through your doors.
