Everyone has those special clients; the ones that love you, rave over you, and come back over and over again. I know in my photography studio we have a few favorites and during the year we try to go above and beyond for them!
Do you categorize your clients?
If not, you need to and follow this 80-20 rule I use!
By categorizing all your clients, you’ll quickly be able to decipher whom the best ones are—the 20 percent that have earned more of your attention.
Basically, the 80-20 rule says that roughly 80 percent of effects come from 20 percent of the causes. The rule gets its name from an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, who studied income and wealth distribution and found that a large percentage of wealth was held by a small percentage of people. Over the years, this economic theory has been effectively applied to everything in life from pea pod yield to the clothes we wear. Think about it, you probably wear 20 percent of the clothes in your closet 80 percent of the time. However, what makes the Pareto principle really interesting is how it applies to all businesses—about 80 percent of your business will be driven by 20 percent of your customers.
The rule can be held up against numerous things in life, and it proves to be fairly accurate. So what’s the point? You can’t be all things to all people. You know that 80 percent of your business is driven by 20 percent of your clients, and this gives you an advantage—if you focus on treating the top 20 percent of your clients better, you can expend less effort and reap fantastic rewards.
As a boutique business, you don’t need to sell to everyone. You offer second-to-none products that consistently thrill your customers. You offer a service-focused relationship that makes your customers love you.
Here are a few profitable marketing strategies that will help you thrill your top 20!
1. Reward your favorites. Your favorite clients should be the first to hear about special opportunities, closeouts, new products, and exclusive events.
2. Educate your favorites. Customers like to understand the how and why of the products and services they buy. If you’re an interior design firm, treat your best clients to a free class on color and texture.
3. Cut the strings. While you’re rewarding, educating, and connecting with your top clients, there doesn’t need to be strings attached.
4. “Fire” undesirable clients. It’s tough to push a less-than favorable but high-profit customer off to the side. Yet, if you want to create your dream business, you’ve got to do it. Some clients can suck away your time, your energy, and your passion for what you do—leaving you too depleted to give fantastic service to your top clients.
To get more tips on pricing, marketing and branding a small business that can charge what you’re worth, download a free chapter of my New York Times Best Selling book, Worth Every Penny: Build a Business that Thrills Your Clients and Still Charge What You’re Worth at: https://photographybusinessinstitute.com/our-book/
