For those of you new to the world of zaps and Zapier, you’re in for a treat.
Before we dive into the benefits of Zapier and integrated software applications, however, let’s first review what Zapier is.
Zapier is a tool that makes it easy to connect the software programs you use with one another. It allows data to flow throughout your business and overcomes the challenges of organizational silos.
In short, Zapier helps you build a connected tech stack of integrated software applications. The advantages of this are that:
Your data is accurate and updates in real-time
The information you need is readily available
Your productivity increases as your time isn’t spent on data entry
You can focus on high-value tasks that help grow your business
How to use Zapier
To make connecting Method and Zapier as easy as possible, we created some zap templates to get you started.
1. RingCentral
Use the RingCentral zap template to instantly add the calls you have with prospects and customers as sales activities in Method. For best practices on how to implement this zap, check out this article in our help center.
2. Facebook Ads
Use this zap template to automatically add Facebook leads into Method and convert your Facebook followers into paying customers.
3. Gravity Forms
Say goodbye to manual lead entry for good with this Gravity Forms zap template. This zap instantly adds leads from Gravity Forms as Method contacts and creates follow-up activities for your sales reps.
4. Outlook Calendar
In addition to our native Outlook CRM integration, Method users can use this zap template to automatically log Outlook Calendar events such as demos and sales meetings as activities in Method.
5. Unbounce
Streamline your lead management process by instantly turning Unbounce leads into Method contacts and scheduling a follow-up activity for every new Unbounce lead with this zap template.
6. Google Forms
Connect Method CRM with your Google Forms account to make sure no leads slip through the cracks. Use this zap template to automatically add your Google Forms leads as Method contacts and instantly create a follow-up activity for each of them.
7. Mailchimp
On top of our native Mailchimp CRM integration, these zap templates will save you time by instantly:
1. Turning Mailchimp subscribers into Method leads
2. Adding Method leads as Mailchimp subscribers
8. Slack
Alert your team about new Method sales opportunities in the Slack channel of your choice with this zap template.
9. Trello
Make it easier to check items off your to-do-list with this zap template. Use it to automatically add the to-do activities you create in Method to your Trello board as new cards.
10. Typeform
Use this zap template to let leads flow from Typeform to Method in real-time and instantly create a follow-up activity for each new Method contact.
The value of Zapier and integrated software applications
These Method zaps will make it easier than ever for you to realize the benefits of integrated software applications.
With Method and Zapier, your:
Data is always up to date
Productivity skyrockets
Focus is on high-value tasks instead of data entry
Check out our Zapier profile to connect the tools you love!
It costs 5 times more to get a new customer than it does to keep an existing one
The probability of selling to an existing customer is 3+ times higher than selling to a new customer
All of this makes knowing and improving your customer retention rate a pressing priority for small businesses.
Before we dive into how customer management software solutions like Method CRM can help you retain more customers, let’s first review what your customer retention rate is.
Your customer retention rate simply looks at the percentage of your customer base that keeps doing business with you over a certain period of time.
When it comes to calculating your customer retention rate, you will need to divide the number of customers who have made a repeat purchase in a given time frame by your total number of customers.
Doing so will let you know:
The percentage of customers you’re losing
How much sales pipeline you need to recuperate
Which customers you need to try to win back
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look at how Method CRM can benefit your customer acquisition and retention strategy.
How Method CRM can increase your customer retention rate
1. Use customer portals to make doing business with you as easy as possible
Method CRM’s portals are a great way to increase your customer retention rate as they make it simple for your customers to get the services they need. Whether that’s making a repeat purchase with you or reviewing an estimate for a future order, portals give your customers the convenience of doing business with you at any time, from anywhere.
Here’s an example of how they work.
The self-serve nature of Method CRM’s portals:
Gives customers 24/7 access to your business
Eliminates friction during the buying process
Ensures your customers don’t turn to your competitors
Better yet, you can customize Method’s portals to house support resources such as FAQs, product guides, and community forums to make sure your customers get as much value out of your products or services as possible.
An added bonus is that Method’s portals not only improve your customer’s experience but they also automate your customer service and sales workflows, freeing up your employees to focus on what matters most — growing your business.
2. Provide a personalized customer experience
A huge differentiator for loyal customers is how they’re treated at the places they do business with. In fact, this is a must-have for 80% of buyers who only shop at businesses that provide them with a personalized experience.
Luckily, Method CRM can help you meet these expectations. As a goldmine of customer information, Method CRM stores details like your customer’s:
Transaction history
Communication preferences
Buying habits
Favorite products
Demographic data
This is all information you can use to tailor your services and offerings to what you know will interest your customer and result in new sales.
The 360-degree view that Method CRM gives you for each of your customers allows you to always provide VIP treatment to your customer base. From birthday discounts to early access to sales on their favorite products, using Method CRM is a surefire way to increase your customer retention rate.
Plus, with all of this information easily accessible and instantly updated, Method CRM also helps you serve your customers faster as they no longer need to explain every detail of their issue to every employee they deal with. Instead, every member of your team can see a full profile of each customer who comes to them for help in just a few clicks.
3. Stay top of mind with ongoing nurture campaigns
When it comes to achieving higher customer retention rates, it’s all about nurturing your customer base. Whether that’s via email or on the phone, Method CRM simplifies this process by:
Keeping track of every nurture activity you perform
Instantly scheduling follow-up activities with existing customers
Making it easy to know exactly what was discussed with a customer
Highlighting the type of promotions and messages that a customer engages with
Plus, with Method CRM’s email campaigns app, you can nurture more customers faster and with less effort. From custom email templates to segmenting contacts for personalized communication, Method CRM makes it much easier to drive repeat business and retain customers.
Not to mention that Method CRM’s integrations with popular communication tools like Gmail, Outlook, and Mailchimp make it easy to keep track of your nurture efforts regardless of how you connect with your customers.
Recap: How to improve your customer retention rate
To scale your customer retention strategy, you need the help of a CRM solution like Method.
Here’s a quick summary of how Method CRM can help you increase your customer retention rate long-term.
Use portals to reduce friction for your buyers and give your customers the convenience of 24/7 online self-service.
Get a 360-degree view of your customers and use these insights to deliver an experience that keeps them coming back.
Execute and automate a data-driven customer nurture strategy to increase your repeat business.
To improve your customer retention rate, sign up for your free trial of Method CRM.
A repeat customer is like the gift that keeps on giving. They make multiple purchases, are cheap to acquire, and even refer new business to you. So the question is, how do you get more of them?
A repeat customer is like a gift that keeps on giving. You anticipate closing a deal with them for weeks, maybe even months, and then they finally do business with you.
Then, it turns out that they’re so satisfied with your products or services that they continue to buy from you and become a repeat customer. This means you can count on them to come back, make future purchases, and maybe even refer some new customers to you.
Long story short — repeat customers are every small business owner’s dream. So the question is, how do you get more of them?
While many customer retention strategies can help you drive repeat business, one among them stands out — using a CRM solution.
CRM is short for customer relationship management software and it’s a tool businesses use to better manage leads and customers. The benefits of CRM software include:
Increasing your productivity and saving time and money as a result
Now that we all understand what a CRM is, let’s look at how you can use one to get more repeat customers.
4 ways a CRM can help you get more repeat customers
1. Impress your customers with outstanding service
Great customer service is a huge part of obtaining repeat business. Especially when you consider that one bad experience stops 80% of customers from shopping with a business ever again.
“One bad customer service experience stops 80% of buyers from returning to a business.”
– Small Biz Trends, 2020.
Thankfully, a CRM can help you manage and serve your customers better.
One way it does this is by offering your customers 24/7 self-serve convenience through online portals. With the click of a button, your customers can use portals to:
Check their account balance
Complete online payments
Update their contact information
View support requests
Look at past transactions
All in all, portals are a great way to improve your customer service as they give your customers the freedom and flexibility to do business with you on their terms.
2. Use lead scoring and qualification to make sure new customers are the right fit
If you want more long-term, loyal customers, you need to make this a priority early in your customer acquisition process. This means having your sales and marketing teams think about whether the leads they bring in are a good fit for your product.
To make this easier, you’ll want to go back to basics and refer to your ideal customer profile (ICP).
For those of you new to what an ideal customer profile is, it’s a summary of the characteristics your best customers share. For context, your ICP can contain anything from the total amount a customer spends in one transaction to their demographic details.
Once you’ve agreed upon your ICP it’s time for your sales and marketing teams to use these criteria to find and pursue the leads that are most likely to become repeat customers. And this is where your CRM will come in handy.
With the help of a CRM, you can:
Keep an up to date record of incoming leads and organize them into categories
Leverage data on the habits and characteristics of repeat purchasers
Qualify or disqualify leads based on certain factors
Use lead scoring to prioritize your most promising prospects
Equipped with the information and organization a CRM provides, you can manage your leads more efficiently and prioritize the prospects most likely to become repeat customers.
3. Personalize your customer’s experience
A huge reason repeat customers are loyal to the businesses they shop with is because of the personalized experiences they receive in return. In fact, Forbes found that 80% of frequent shoppers only buy from businesses that provide a personalized experience.
“80% of frequent shoppers only buy from businesses that provide personalized experiences.”
– Forbes, 2020.
To deliver the level of personalization that repeat customers want, you’ll need to leverage the goldmine of customer information a CRM holds. This includes details like their:
Favorite products
Communication preferences
Engagement rate with different promotions
Buying habits
From birthday discounts to bundle offers with products your customer just can’t say no to, a CRM is a helpful tool when it comes to using personalization to drive repeat business.
4. Never stop nurturing your customers
Oftentimes, the difference between one-time customers and repeat customers is whether your business is top of mind. And with so much going on in our daily lives, it takes work to be in this coveted spot.
The key to remaining top of mind is to never stop nurturing your customers. From thanking them for their business to inviting them to join your rewards program, staying in touch with your customers after the initial sale keeps them engaged and returning to your business.
With a CRM, it’s easy to find and leverage each customer’s history and use this information to connect with them after the sale. Plus, with a CRM you can automate your nurture efforts with email campaigns so you never miss an opportunity to generate repeat business again.
Recap: Using a CRM to get more repeat customers
Now that we’ve looked at how a CRM can help you get more repeat customers, let’s wrap things up with some actionable takeaways.
Use customer portals to provide your customers with the best service possible.
Implement lead scoring and qualification early in the sales cycle to encourage customer retention.
Leverage customer data to provide a personalized experience your customers can’t get anywhere else.
Use email campaigns to stay top of mind for your customers.
See how Method CRM can help you get more repeat customers with a free trial.
There’s no doubt that the construction industry is competitive. It’s the reason so many companies are willing to pay a hefty price when seeking how to get construction leads.
While this approach might be effective for lead generation in the short term, it’s not the best if you want to grow your business sustainably.
In this blog, you’ll learn how to get construction leads in eight proven ways and stay competitive without breaking the bank. Implemented properly, these strategies convert opportunities into lifelong clients.
Types of construction leads
Information qualified leads (IQL)
Information qualified leads (IQL) are potential clients who have shown interest by engaging with your content or by providing their contact information in exchange for resources (e-books, webinars).
Based on our past experiences, unguided strategies like cold calling rarely contribute to generating IQLs. Instead, you should:
Attract potential clients with compelling content.
Establish partnerships with local suppliers.
Advertise in trade magazines and journals.
Participate in local trade shows and exhibitions.
Network at construction industry events.
Qualify leads to ensure they match the company’s ideal client profile before you follow up with potential leads promptly and professionally. You can cultivate qualified leads through targeted data and follow-ups to move them down the sales funnel more effectively.
Marketing qualified leads (MQL)
Marketing qualified leads (MQL) are a step ahead of IQLs. MQLs are prospects who have shown a more concrete interest in your construction services. For example, maybe they’ve:
Repeatedly visited your website.
Meaningfully engaged with your online content.
Responded to your initial marketing efforts.
MQLs are more likely to become customers, so it’s crucial to engage with them through more personalized marketing approaches.
For some proven ways to secure MQLs, you can:
Generate leads through online advertising.
Build a strong online presence through SEO and PPC campaigns.
Attend construction-related seminars and workshops to meet potential clients.
Optimize the company website for search engines.
Offer referral incentives to existing clients.
When learning how to get construction leads, considering these strategies is crucial as MQLs are the best, most qualified leads you can acquire.
Why is lead generation important for construction companies?
Lead generation is vital for your construction company because it provides a steady stream of potential clients.
Don’t just focus on the quantity of people that comprise your prospect list. Generating high-quality leads is crucial for sustained business growth. Effective lead generation strategies help you identify and pursue clients who are more profitable.
Proven ways to get more qualified construction leads
1. Align sales and marketing
When establishing how to get construction leads, your sales and marketing teams need to work together by sharing all the customer insights they have.
Whether it’s feedback from conversations with prospects on the phone or through customer engagements on social media, this information is critical to the development of your ideal customer profile (ICP).
For those of you new to what an ICP is, it’s a general outline that represents the traits that your best customers share. The value of an ICP is that it helps you understand what type of buyers:
Shop most frequently with your business
Are the cheapest to convert into customers.
Generate the most revenue for you.
Are the most profitable to acquire.
Stay with you the longest.
Your ICP guides your lead generation strategy and helps you know which construction leads are worth investing your time into.
2. Use online lead generation forms
When it comes to getting free construction leads, your website is a great place to start, as visitors have already shown some interest in your services. To capitalize on this interest, you’ll want to make the most of online lead generation forms.Embedded directly onto your website, visitors who are interested in your services can share their contact information with you and request that you follow up with them. Below is an example of a web-to-lead form.
With the help of a lead generation form, finding out how to get construction leads has never been easier.
3. Automate your sales workflows
The key to building a successful sales process from lead to repeat buyer (and everything in between) is workflow automation. By automating your workflows from initial sales outreach to your final follow-up, you ensure that you’re effectively nurturing every one of your construction leads to move them down the sales funnel.
On top of this, sales workflow automation lets you put time back into your sales reps’ days, as they no longer have to perform tedious tasks like manually creating estimates or managing spreadsheets. Instead, they can use this time to complete more revenue-generating activities, such as building industry relationships and taking meetings with hot leads.
4. Leverage the power of referrals
Still not sure how to get construction leads you can count on? Try turning to your existing customers.
To start, you should think about your most satisfied customers and ask them if they know anyone looking for general contractors or construction services. This tactic is a great way to stay top of mind and drum up leads for your construction business.
To incentivize your request for referrals, you can offer customers a discounted rate on their next project or a chance to collect a prize like tickets to a concert or sports event. To generate even more construction leads, you can also launch social media and email campaigns around the giveaway to create excitement about your brand.
5. Share your success stories on social media
Here’s how to get construction leads easily without investing too much time: showcase some of your best projects on your social media platforms. This gets your brand out there and helps build trust with your social media followers about the quality of your work.
To get started, you can post before and after photos of your work to highlight the impact of your services and show audiences what’s possible with your company. This is a popular strategy on visual social platforms like Instagram.
Your company should also create a professional LinkedIn profile to show the credibility of your business and make contact information easily available. It’s a good idea to solicit testimonials and reviews from satisfied customers on Yelp or your website as well.
Don’t forget that social media engagement is an important way to connect with your customers. Engage with potential clients on social media platforms to answer questions and get users interested in your services.
6. Run paid ads on Google and Facebook
Google and Facebook are two online directories where you can target specific demographics with tailored marketing campaigns.
These platforms offer advanced targeting options, letting you reach individuals who are most likely to need construction services. Tailoring your ads to specific demographics, locations, and interests leads to higher conversion rates.
7. Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful tool for attracting qualified leads. Research keywords relevant to your services to direct online traffic to your websites and improve your ranking on key search engines like Google.
A better rank means your website shows up higher on the SERP, which is the list of results that appear after a search. One of the best ways to improve how to get construction leads is through a highly optimized website.
8. Use retargeting for paid ad campaigns
Retargeting is an effective way to recapture the attention of visitors who have shown interest in your services but haven’t become a customer. By showing ads to these people as they browse other sites, you remind them of your construction services and encourage them to return.
To this end, consider pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, where you only spend money when someone clicks your ad (rather than just views it). Make sure you establish a budget for your digital marketing strategies to stay within your financial restraints.
Which construction lead generation strategy will you use first?
When learning how to get construction leads, there are two paths you can take: free marketing channels and paid marketing channels. While a free option is always appealing, there are some things you need to keep in mind for both strategies.
Free marketing channels
Free marketing channels are an obvious choice for every construction business because they don’t have any upfront costs.
Unpaid marketing strategies include things like:
Social media, online forums and groups.
Cold calling.
Networking with suppliers in the industry.
Follow-ups to nurture relationships with past clients for repeat business.
Volunteering and community involvement.
Referral programs.
Local partnerships are also an easy way to obtain trust with your leads as you’re working alongside other established businesses.
You can connect with local real estate agents for potential leads — or collaborate with complementary businesses for joint ventures to capture more targeted prospects.
Because you’re investing time and not money into free marketing channels, these are easy ways to get your foot in the door. On the other hand, your leads will probably not fit your ideal customer profiles, resulting in fewer conversions.
Paid marketing channels
Paid marketing channels put you ahead of your competition because they target your leads much more effectively than an unpaid marketing strategy. That said, this means more risk if your investment doesn’t pay off.
Paid marketing channels can include:
Networking events like construction trade shows.
Sponsorships and local events.
Online and offline local advertising.
Email marketing campaigns.
Industry associations and memberships.
You can research emerging markets and areas of growth to decide how to invest your money smartly. By establishing what works for your business, you can understand how to get construction leads in your niche for a better close rate.
Specializing in a niche sets you apart in the market so you have less competition. You can use this advantage to promote specialized services or discounts to attract new clients.
Recap: How to get and close more construction leads
At this point, you should have a better idea of how to get construction leads for your business. Drawing from our experience, the most successful construction businesses:
Have sales and marketing work together to discover construction leads that match ICPs.
Use lead gen forms on the company website to capitalize on online interest.
Automate sales workflows wherever possible.
Find new construction projects by asking for customer referrals.
Build a social media presence by sharing examples of high-quality work.
Frequently asked questions about construction leads
Does a brand / logo matter in getting more construction leads?
Your company logo and job site branding matter — to a point. Having a recognizable brand helps your customers remember you.
Whether it’s someone who recognized the logo on your company vehicle or a previous client who wants to refer you to a new job, ensuring strong branding with a consistent logo design makes your company stick in people’s minds.
You don’t need to spend a lot of time or money on establishing a brand. A logo that is simple but unique to your business is all you need to start making your business memorable. Gather good customer reviews and testimonials to take you the rest of the way.
Do I need to hire a professional marketer to get more construction leads?
Hiring a professional marketer is beneficial, especially if you lack the expertise or resources to manage marketing efforts with an in-house team. However, it’s not entirely necessary.
If you do choose to go this route, lead generation services provide specialized skills and knowledge in areas like:
SEO.
Paid advertising.
Content marketing.
A professional marketer helps you expand in each area to quickly put your business ahead of your competition.
What is B2B in construction?
B2B stands for “business to business” and refers to engagements between two businesses, rather than involving an individual customer. In the construction industry, this includes suppliers for your materials or any consulting services you use.
B2B relationships require a different marketing approach that’s focused on long-term relationships and the value of the products or services those relationships provide you.
Learn more great tips about how to get construction leads.
Download our free ebook to learn how to make your sales process more effective.
Did you know that 80% of your future sales will come from only 20% of your existing customers?
With this in mind, it’s clear that your loyal customers are the ones that keep you in business and that you need to implement effective customer retention strategies so you don’t lose them.
“80% of your future sales will come from 20% of your customer base.”
– Small Business Trends, 2020.
With most small businesses focused on new customer acquisition, it’s important to not forget the other side of the coin: growing your business through customer retention.
Throughout this post, we look at the top6customer retention strategies that will help you have your best financial year yet. Let’s dive in!
Customer retention strategies to grow your business
1. Invest in customer success
Let’s face it — your customers aren’t going to be lifelong if they don’t find value in the product or service you offer. This is why it’s so important to do everything you can to ensure customer satisfaction from the get-go.
One way to do this is by empowering your customers with helpful resources like:
Product guides
FAQ pages
Set-up manuals
Video tutorials
As well as any other resources they need to get the most out of your product.
By making it easy for your customers to unlock the full potential of your product, you can make sure that your customers feel good about buying your product and doing business with you — two factors that really help when it comes to customer retention.
2. Support your customers as much as possible
Another way to make sure your customers keep coming back is by offering excellent customer support and service. Especially when you consider that a single bad experience with a business stops 80% of American customers from ever returning.
“One bad experience stops 80% of customers from returning to a business.”
– Small Business Trends, 2020.
To provide great customer service, you’ll want to make yourself available to customers by:
Phone
Email
Social media
Chat
Forum
As well as any other ways your customers like to communicate. Customer portals are another great way for small businesses to provide their customers with 24/7 online self-service without hiring round-the-clock staff.
3. Make customer retention part of your sales strategy
Contrary to what you might think, one of the most important customer retention strategies starts before you make a sale, during the decision-making stage of the buyer journey.
At this point in the sales process, sales reps often get so excited about closing a deal that they forget about the need for alignment between what a product offers and what a buyer is looking for.
To stop this from happening, you need to consider the importance of customer retention to your revenue goals and your business’ health as a whole. This way, your sales team can focus on both customer acquisition and retention and you can rest assured that your sales reps:
Won’t oversell or make promises your product can’t live up to
Remain transparent about the terms and conditions of the sale
Won’t rush your buyers into making a purchase
All of which will help improve your customer retention and ensure your customers are set up for success from the start.
4. Use customer feedback to provide best in class service
Part of retaining lifelong customers is continuously offering them something new. Whether that’s a new product or a better customer experience, your goal should be to constantly deliver more value to your customers. This will not only keep them hungry for more but also stop them from doing business with your competitors.
For inspiration on how to improve your business, you’ll need to collect as much customer feedback as possible. To start, reach out to your best customers (those who’ve been with you the longest and shop with you the most frequently) for feedback on what they love and don’t love about your business. Take both the positive and negative feedback they give you and adjust your operations accordingly.
Another valuable source of information you need to collect is from the customers who churn. Find out why these customers didn’t do business with you again and work to address the issues they bring up.
5. Nurture, nurture, and more nurture
One of the most effective customer retention strategies is to never stop nurturing — even after you’ve closed the initial sale.
One way to do this is by frequently engaging with your customers through email, social media, forums, and whatever other platforms they use.
Another way is to build a sense of community around your customers — just think about the customer loyalty brands like Starbucks, Apple, and Patagonia have been able to create through this mechanism.
Regardless, of how you choose to nurture your customers, you want to do your best to stay top of mind and be the business they’re always recommending.
6. Treat your best customers like VIPs
The last of our customer retention strategies is to pay special attention to your best customers. These are the ones who’ve been loyal to your business for years, keep coming back, and constantly refer new business to you — these are the customers you can’t afford to lose.
To make sure you don’t lose these customers, you’ll need to make sure that you’re always going the extra mile. Whether that’s an extended warranty period or longer payment terms, treating these customers well will pay off as they continue to buy from you and recommend you to their friends and family.
For this group, you’ll want to leverage personalization wherever possible to give them a VIP experience they can’t get anywhere else. Here are a few things you can do to get started with this:
Give your VIPs exclusive access to new products
Reach out with product recommendations that are personalized to their needs and preferences
Hold an invite-only VIP sale that’s only open to your best customers
Congratulate your VIPs on milestones like a new child or promotion with a handwritten card or an on-the-house gift
Small businesses are often so focused on getting more customers that they forget about the customers they already have. This, however, is a big mistake as focusing on your existing customers is much a more profitable strategy.
To drive the best bottom line possible, here’s a quick summary of the top 6 customer retention strategies you need to implement.
Empower your customers with the resources that will help them get the most out of your product.
Support your customers through every part of the customer journey — from lead to repeat and everything in between.
Make customer retention a crucial part of your sales strategy.
Collect customer feedback and use it to continuously deliver more value to your customers.
Keep in touch with your customers and get them excited about doing business with you.
Reward your best customers for their loyalty with personalized perks and benefits.
See how Method CRM can help improve your customer retention with a free trial.
As stay at home orders end and the economy begins to pick up again, it’s time to think about how to best approach your small business reopening. From getting the word out about your return to updating your operations to comply with social distancing requirements, there is plenty for small business owners to do.
Today, we look at how to approach reopening so you can keep your:
Employees safe
Customers happy
Sales coming in
Let’s get started!
1. Break your small business reopening plan into phases
Let’s face it, your small business isn’t going to operate the way it did pre-pandemic. At least not for the immediate future anyway.
To set yourself up for success, you’ll want to plan your small business reopening in phases. Doing this will make sure you comply with local regulations as they relax and will save you from any potential fines or community backlash that result from you moving too quickly.
For your phased reopening plan, you should start by adjusting your workplace’s capacity to allow for social distancing. You’ll want to be as conservative as possible in the first phase of reopening your business and then gradually increase the number of people allowed to enter your workplace at one time.
Pro tip: If your customers are eager to do business with you in person again, it’s smart to allow some of your employees to continue working from home so you can welcome more customers into your business.
2. Look at how technology can help you do business better
Despite the challenges that arose during COVID-19, small business owners still found ways to meet the needs of their customers — often with the help of technology. Not only did these solutions connect small businesses with their customers during a tough time, but they also helped them make their operations more efficient.
As you plan for your small business reopening, here’s how you should incorporate technology into your business.
Online orders
Online shopping was something that many small businesses didn’t offer when COVID-19 hit. As a result, many lost sales to companies like Amazon and Walmart when online ordering increased by 68%.
“In the U.S., online shopping skyrocketed by 68%.”
– Forbes, 2020.
This is more than just a one time trend — instead, it represents a long-term shift in how Americans shop. With this in mind, it’s clear that accepting online orders needs to become part of your small business reopening plan.
As you get back to business, supporting online orders will let you:
Make payment contactless
Maintain social distancing
Serve more customers
Expand your customer base
Remote team collaboration
Another trend that emerged during COVID-19 that is here to stay is remote work. Research has found that 48% of employees are likely to continue working remotely even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“48% of employees are likely to continue to work remotely in some capacity.”
– Gartner, 2020.
And while your team is probably eager to return to work and officially reopen, many of them will still want to work from home at least occasionally.
To support this new way of working, you need to make sure that you have the right tools in place to keep your team connected and efficient.
Whether that’s with video conferencing solutions like Zoom and Google Meets or a QuickBooks CRM, it’s important to set your team up for success from anywhere.
Pro tip: As concerns about the second wave of COVID-19 circulate, it’s smart to make solutions that help future-proof your business part of your reopening strategy.
3. Get ahead on reordering inventory
As part of your small business reopening, it’s crucial to take stock of your inventory and make sure you have the products you need to get back to business. As you prepare to reopen, it’s important to do a full inventory audit so you know exactly:
What you have on hand and can offer to your customers
Which items you need to reorder and when
Which products and services are in surplus and should be part of your reopening promotions
Pro tip: If COVID-19 has put a strain on your cash flow, see if your suppliers are open to extending your payment terms or renegotiating the amount you owe them upfront.
4. Update your health and safety protocols
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses need to pay more attention than ever to their health and safety protocols. From encouraging your employees and customers to wear a mask to placing hand sanitizer stations throughout your business, you’ll need to incorporate new operational processes into your small business reopening plan.
Pro tip: To allow for proper workplace safety, you may want to dedicate work hours at the start and end of every shift to sanitizing high-contact areas such as your cash register, front doors, and bathrooms.
Small business reopening checklist
Now that your bases are covered when it comes to your small business reopening, let’s summarize what you need to do before opening your doors again.
Create a plan to reopen your business in phases that are in line with local regulations.
Implement solutions that allow you to support online ordering and remote work.
Do a full inventory audit so you can reorder and discount products as needed.
Evaluate your current health protocols, making changes where needed to keep your employees and customers safe.
Learn how a local landscaper made it through the 2008 recession.
There’s no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic made small business survival even more difficult than it was before. With shelter-in-place regulations across the United States and national unemployment at an all-time high, many wondered if small businesses would survive at all.
Once again, however, small business owners across the country proved their resiliency. Whether you took a short term pivot on the products and services you offer or used resources from the Small Business Administration like emergency loans or the paycheck protection program, you found a way to adapt.
And with recovery on the horizon, now is the time to think not only about small business survival but about how you can make your company even better than before.
Today, we look at why a CRM solution needs to be part of your small business survival plan. Let’s get started!
How a CRM can help your small business survive
1. More successful sales and marketing campaigns
A CRM holds an abundance of information you can use to learn more about your leads and customers. From information on what purchases your customers have made to data on what messaging resonates with your target audience, a CRM helps you uncover new insights about your customer base. Insights you can then use to shape and refine your sales strategy and marketing efforts.
And trust us when we say these tidbits of information are critical to closing sales. Research has shown that personalization means more to buyers than ever before and is only expected to increase in importance.
“72% of buyers only engage with messaging that’s personalized to them.”
– Forbes, 2020.
Given this, the customer data a CRM holds is a goldmine of information you can use to better target and convert your prospects. With the help of a CRM, you can tailor your sales and marketing campaigns to each lead — ensuring that you speak directly to their specific pain points and highlight exactly why they need your product.
Method CRM users: To better understand your target audience, you can use custom reports in Method to see what your best customers have in common and build your ideal customer profile (ICP) around this data. Once your ICP is defined, every sales and marketing campaign you launch should focus on and target this persona.
2. Improved cash flow management
Positive cash flow is a critical part of small business survival. But even in the best of times, it can be a challenge. In fact, cash flow is something that 62 percent of small business owners struggle with.
“62% of small business owners experience cash flow problems.”
– Inuit QuickBooks, 2019.
Thankfully, a CRM helps you better understand how much cash you’re actually bringing in. By tracking every sales opportunity as it progresses through the funnel, you get real-time updates on how likely a deal is to close and when you can expect to receive payment from it.
And if you use a QuickBooks CRM, like Method, you can streamline your finances even more by automatically syncing transactions between your CRM and QuickBooks account. With a QuickBooks CRM, you don’t have to worry about recording your sales twice or having deals that don’t close on your books.
Method CRM users: Track every stage of your sales pipeline in Method and use the Opportunities app to learn which opportunities are most likely to become sales and when you can expect these deals to close. Then use our payment gateways to get paid faster and keep your cash flow positive.
3. More repeat business
Considering that CRM stands for customer relationship management, it makes sense that a CRM helps you better serve and manage your customers.
For small businesses, this means providing a level of service that keeps customers coming back and stops them from shopping with your competitors.
Using a CRM makes it easier for you to stay competitive and helps small companies survive against big businesses like Amazon and Walmart by:
Empowering your employees with the information they need to serve your customers
Making it easier to personalize a customer’s experience to their preferences and buying habits
Increasing the speed at which you can service your loyal customers
With a CRM, it’s easier for your team to go the extra mile and leave a lasting, positive impression on your customers — an impression they will hopefully share with their friends and on social media to help you drum up even more business.
And now that your customers are happy, you can use your CRM to effectively upsell. By looking at a customer’s transaction history and buying behavior, you can now strategically sell additional products to them. Whether you do that by creating a special offer for them based on their favorite products or planning a follow-up sales activity, using a CRM helps you meet the ongoing demands of your customers.
Method CRM users: Make it even easier for your customers to do business with you with Method’s customer portals. With 24/7 self-service, your customers can do everything online from making payments to accepting estimates and checking their account status.
4. Greater operational efficiency
If you want to increase your productivity, using a CRM is a great way to make this happen. By automating necessary but time-consuming tasks like sending emails and scheduling meetings, a CRM takes care of the grunt work for you. This means you can focus on higher-value tasks like meeting with potential customers and driving sales opportunities forward.
Plus, with the organization a CRM provides, you don’t waste your time looking for sales data or duplicating work. Instead, you can focus on what matters — making sure your small business survives.
Method CRM users: Take advantage of Method’s Email campaign app to connect with more prospects in less time. In just a few clicks, you can set up email nurture templates that you can re-use again and again during sales outreach.
Beyond small business survival: How A CRM helps you thrive
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of CRM software, let’s recap how a CRM can increase your chance of small business survival and better yet, success. With a CRM, you can:
Use data-driven insights about your leads and customers to execute more targeted and effective sales and marketing initiatives
Gain visibility into your sales pipeline and improve your cash flow management
Improve your customer service and capitalize on every upsell opportunity
Increase your productivity by automating tedious workflows
All of which will reduce your overhead costs and help you drive a better bottom line.
Want to realize the benefits of a CRM? Start your free trial of Method CRM today!
Understanding how to increase wholesale sales means keeping up with the latest strategies and technology. And complex global supply chains and persistent expectations for lower wholesale prices from retail businesses only add to the woes of wholesale suppliers.
These challenges put increased pressure on the bottom line of wholesalers and make revenue generation a top priority.
In this blog, you’ll learn about:
The common challenges faced by wholesale distributors.
Effective lead generation techniques.
How to expand your wholesale business.
Let’s get started!
What is a wholesale marketing strategy?
A wholesale marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan designed specifically for businesses that sell goods in bulk to:
Retail stores.
Distributors.
Other companies.
This strategy focuses on how to increase wholesale sales using pricing models, digital marketing, and customer relationship management (CRM). The goal is to improve your brand visibility and build strong business-to-business (B2B) relationships.
Overall, your wholesale marketing strategy involves:
Identifying target markets and demographics.
Understanding the unique needs and demands of your customers.
Developing a tailored approach on how to engage with them.
Challenges faced by wholesale distributors
Services required by manufacturers
Manufacturers often require specific workflows from different vendors. Examples of what you might have to manage include:
Bulk ordering processes.
Reliable distribution business services.
Quality assurance..
Meeting these needs is challenging, but customizable software solutions help you stay on the ball. If you’re a QuickBooks or Xero user, consider integrating with Method to simplify workflows between your vendors.
Automating your manual, everyday processes reduces the time you spend on the things you can do, but don’t want to. As a result, you can focus your energy into activities that drive growth and profitability.
Retailer demands
Retailers often have different demands than other businesses. For example. they might:
Negotiate bulk discounts.
Request product diversification for various seasons.
Require fast delivery times to multiple locations.
Drawing from our experience, a wholesaler that builds strong relationships with retailers is more likely to close deals.
The good news is that, with an integrated platform like Method, you can develop stronger relationships while you streamline your operations at the same time. A dedicated solution streamlines the ordering process so you can meet customer demands quickly and effectively.
Shipping costs
Our analysis has shown that finding a reliable shipping company that provides bulk discounts is a critical component of keeping your wholesale profit margins high. Shipping costs get expensive, so finding the right postal service is paramount.
You may need to make a business account with several shipping companies depending on which international countries you’re shipping to and the speed of delivery you require.
Inventory management
Prevent stock outs and track stock turnover with an efficient inventory management system. This can be managed with a solution like Method, which integrates with QuickBooks or Xero software and offers customized features to optimize your inventory.
This allows you to run promotions on products and run sales with confidence.
Shift to e-commerce
The shift to e-commerce has changed the way wholesalers operate. Creating an online presence and e-commerce sales strategy is now essential for your success as a wholesale company.
Through our practical knowledge, we recommend incorporating the following in your e-commerce platform:
A section that showcases new products effectively (i.e., clear photographs of the product, detailed product descriptions, etc.)
Clear return policies.
Sales performance tracking (which you can capture using a CRM platform).
Why having a solid wholesale marketing strategy matters
Attracts your ideal clients
A well-defined marketing strategy helps you attract the right customera for your business to produce more focused and effective sales efforts. Sales team training on an ongoing basis ensures your team carries out your sales processes consistently.
Sets your business apart
A company that analyzes market trends regularly and improves product quality might be enough, but competition is stiff.
Our findings show that employing these tips sets your business apart::
Create and follow digital marketing strategies.
Ensure your budget invests in targeted marketing.
Offer exceptional customer service.
Set a pricing model that offers incentives for large orders and offers competitive pricing in your industry.
Ensures sustainable growth
A solid marketing strategy doesn’t just increase sales in the short term. In addition, it ensures long-term sustainable growth by building brand loyalty and driving customer retention.
Think about where you expect your company to be in the next five, ten, or twenty years. How will your demographic change over time? What technologies will you need to adapt to keep up with current trends?
How to increase wholesale sales
So, how can you increase your sales in wholesale markets? Throughout this post, we’ll look at four different ways you can do just that.
1. Use marketing insights to fuel your sales channels and strategy
The first step in increasing your wholesale sales is to make sure your marketing and sales teams are on the same page. Otherwise, it’s going to be a lot harder to sell your product.
To drive more sales, you need your sales team to leverage the deep knowledge your marketing team has about customer acquisition. From effective communication with prospects during sales outreach to what content resonates with your customers, Marketing has plenty of insights that Sales can use to close more deals.
2. Focus on relationship-building
In crowded spaces like wholesale and retail, it often comes down to who you know. So, while it’s important to reinforce customer relationship building as much as possible, building strong relationships with other business owners is just as important.
This is great to keep in mind if you’re wondering how to encourage wholesale customers to place orders in the first place.
From offering your top custoners discounts on high volume orders to expediting the delivery of their shipments, going the extra mile for your customers helps you secure more business and establish your reputation as a business that people want to buy goods from.
3. Automate your sales workflows
The next of these steps to improve your retail or wholesale business is to let your sales people focus on activities that add value to your company, instead of carrying out tedious admin tasks all day. Thankfully, this is what workflow automation is all about.
When it comes to automating your sales workflows, there are plenty of tools available to wholesalers.
The first is lead gen forms. Lead gen forms save your sales team time by simplifying the process of capturing leads and managing demand.
Placed directly on your website, lead gen forms capture the contact information of site visitors who want to learn more about your products. With lead gen forms, you automate lead collection, so sales reps can focus entirely on generating wholesale sales.
See an example of a web-to-lead form below.
Another helpful tool when it comes to automating sales workflows is dial automation software. Because they only put your sales reps on a call after a potential customer answers the phone, dial automation tools save time to let your reps connect with more leads in a day.
Using a CRM for wholesale is also a crucial part of increasing your sales. It’s particularly beneficial if you’re looking for how to boost online wholesale business.
From automatically updating your sales pipeline to enabling faster customer service, a CRM lets your sales team focus on revenue-generating activities. Not to mention, the best CRM solutions generate reports for data analysis and forecasting to drive actionablle insights.
4. Deliver a personalized sales experience
No matter your industry, personalizing your sales experience is one of the best ways to increase profitability.
Writing a customer’s name on a fitting room door or sending out birthday coupons are some examples of how the retail stores you sell to deliver personalized sales experiences.
To increase your wholesale sales, you’ll need to give your buyers an equally personalized experience with undivided attention. Based on our past experiences, improving customer service strategies in the wholesale trade will immediately yield positive results for your business.
For example, you can promote related products to help diversify a customer’s demand for your stock, or prepare a unique sales pitch for each lead. Note that a clear image or video showcasing your product goes a long way in capturing a lead’s attention.When it comes to learning how to increase wholesale sales, personalization is the most effective way to stand out among your competitors.
With almost 800,000 wholesale businesses in the U.S. alone, it’s safe to say that wholesaling isn’t for the faint of heart. This is why it’s crucial to understand how to increase wholesale sales in this industry.
Based on our observations, the best ideas when considering how to increase wholesale sales include:
Networking and partnerships at events like trade shows and exhibitions.
Digital marketing tools like SEO and social media (i.e., LinkedIn).
Strategies to incentivize new buyers with a referral program.
Developing strategies to advertise online to your target audience.
Our in-house subject experts condluded that these are all current and effective strategies wholesalers employ to bring in new leads.
How to expand wholesale business
Expanding a wholesale business can involve diversifying your product range and attracting a broader customer base by investing in digital marketing and improving your online sales platforms. Utilizing data analytics for market insights can significantly drive business growth and reach.
Recap: How to increase wholesale sales
Now that we’ve reviewed how to increase wholesale sales and create more business in retail, here are some actionable takeaways:
Incorporate marketing insights into your wholesale sales strategy.
Focus on building positive relationships in the wholesale and retail space.
Use tools like a CRM and dial automation software to automate your sales workflows.
Provide your leads and customers with a personalized sales experience.
Generate new leads by requesting referrals from past customers.
How to increase wholesale sales: Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
How do I get more wholesale clients?
Our analysis has shown that a company that engages in effective networking is most successful when it comes to finding out how to increase wholesale sales.
When building your client base, you’ll see the best results when your company:
Educates potential clients about product benefits.
Includes a way to receive customer feedback and adaptation of said feedback.
Research strategic pricing strategies to stay competitive.
Offers incentives for larger purchases.
Attracts new buyers as it expands into new markets.
Participates in trade shows and collaborates with complementary businesses for promotional campaigns.
What is the difference between wholesale and retail?
Wholesale involves selling products to businesses or distributors at a discounted rate (B2B). On the other hand, retail involves selling products directly to end consumers at a marked up price (B2C), often referred to as the manufacturer’s recommended retail price (MSRP.)
How to start a B2B wholesale business?
Starting a B2B wholesale business requires you to:
COVID-19 has been hard for everyone, especially small businesses. Thankfully, small business recovery is on the horizon for many.
As we approach the light at the end of the tunnel, we look at how you can create a strong small business recovery plan. Let’s get started.
How to build your small business recovery plan
1. Focus on creating a safe workplace
As small businesses begin to reopen, your first priority should be health and safety. From limiting the number of people in your store to having masks and hand sanitizer readily available, it’s your responsibility as small business owners to keep your employees and customers safe.
As part of your small business recovery plan, you need to think about what logistical changes are needed for safe business operations. This could include changes such as:
Increasing sanitization frequency
Implementing curb-side pick up
Creating a rotating schedule for in-office employees
While some states are gradually re-opening, others are still sheltering-in-place, and some never closed at all. Regardless of the status of your area, it’s smart to prepare your small business recovery plan as far in advance as possible.
As you work on your small business recovery plan, it’s important to have your finger on the pulse of any new regulations. Setting up Google alerts or subscribing to updates for your area’s regulations will help you keep you up-to-date on any changes and let you adjust your small business recovery plan as needed.
3. Re-evaluate your finances
COVID-19 has hit small businesses extremely hard financially. So before you get back to business, it’s important to re-evaluate your finances.
As you prepare your small business recovery plan, you need to take a look at:
Doing so will let you know exactly where your finances stand and what actions you need to take to recover from COVID-19.
4. Take stock of inventory
A crucial part of your recovery journey is ensuring that you have the inventory needed to get back to business. Before you re-open, it’s smart to do a full inventory count, so that you know exactly what you have to offer your customers.
Incorporating inventory management into your small business recovery plan also allows you to:
Get ahead of reordering your best-selling products
Ensure you don’t lose sales because of a lack of inventory
Plan promotions for items you have a surplus of
5. Promote your business
Let’s face it, not every small business made it through COVID-19. You’ve worked hard to stay in the game this long and that’s something to be proud of.
And now is the time to get the word out about your return.
As part of your small business recovery plan, you’ll want to create a promotional strategy around your re-opening. Whether you share your story of resiliency with local news outlets or launch a social media campaign to let people know that you’re back, it’s never too early to create a buzz around your return.
Looking forward to small business recovery
Here’s a recap of what you need to do for small business recovery:
Create a workplace that’s safe for your employees and customers
Stay up to date on changes to business regulations
Take stock of your finances and create a plan that will allow for economic recovery
Gain an accurate understanding of the inventory you have on hand
Get the word out to existing and potential customers about your business’ return
In terms of next steps, you’ll want to think about how to handle any follow-up waves of COVID-19 and build a business continuity plan for this situation.
For more tips on small business recovery,
learn how a local landscaper bounced back after the 2008 recession.
Sales outreach is a crucial part of any sales process, as it’s the first time you connect with potential customers. Not to mention, it’s often the first impression you make with a buyer.
A make-it-or-break-it part of the sales cycle, sales teams need all the help they can get when it comes to improving sales outreach. Today, we look at ways you can:
Improve your sales outreach
Maximize prospect conversion rates
Close more deals
How to reach the right prospects
When it comes to reaching the right sales prospects, you’ll have to do most of the legwork before you begin your sales outreach.
The first thing you’ll want to do is connect with your marketing team to gain a better understanding of your ideal customer profile (ICP). Doing this, will highlight the characteristics your best customers share and will allow you to engage with prospective buyers who exhibit these traits.
The result of this groundwork will not only allow your sales and marketing teams to align on outreach strategy but will let you know which types of prospects are most likely to convert.
How to reach more prospects
The key to increasing your outbound sales is to focus on automating your sales workflows wherever possible. And luckily, there are plenty of ways to streamline your outreach efforts and reach more prospects.
A simple way to do this is to use a CRM solution. With the help of a CRM, you can easily automate processes like:
Other tools like dial automation software and social media schedulers offer additional ways to reduce admin work and increase the number of prospects you reach.
How to keep track of your sales outreach
Activity tracking is a crucial part of any sales process and it’s particularly important during sales outreach. Without it, you run the risk of:
Forgetting who you messaged and when.
Not reaching out to qualified leads.
Multiple reps reaching out to the same prospect.
A disorganized sales outreach strategy.
The best way to keep track of your sales outreach efforts is to use a tool that everyone on your team can access and update in real time. A cloud CRM, like Method, allows your sales team to keep a record of their sales outreach activities and updates your sales pipeline as opportunities progress down the funnel.
Plus, Method’s native integrations with tools like Google Calendar, Gmail, and Outlook reduce the need for sales reps to manually log their sales activities.
How to get prospects to continue the conversation
Generating interest around the products or services you sell is a crucial but challenging part of sales outreach, especially when you consider that 72% of consumers will only engage with outreach and messaging that’s personalized to them.
“72% of consumers will only engage with messaging that’s personalized.”
– Forbes, 2020
To deliver the level of personalization buyers expect today, you want to:
Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes and really understand how your offering can benefit them.
Tailor your value proposition to your buyer’s circumstances.
Clearly state how you can help them solve some of the pain points they deal with daily.
Highlight what your buyer will gain from taking a meeting or a call with you.
How to gain prospect trust
Whether or not a prospect trusts you greatly influences their decision to buy later in the sales cycle. This is why you want to build a relationship with your prospect early on in the sales process.
During sales outreach, you should take the time to learn about your prospect and avoid centering every conversation you have around your product. Doing this will help you not only dig deeper into the pain points they have but might also reveal nuggets of information you can use to seal the deal later on.
Later in the sales process, sharing customer stories and case studies is an additional way for you to build credibility with prospects, as these resources affirm all the great things you’ve told them about your product.
Recap: How to make the most of your sales outreach
If you’re keen to improve your sales outreach, here are some actionable and easy to implement takeaways for you:
Touch base with your marketing team for prospecting, messaging, and outreach advice.
Automate your sales workflows wherever possible.
Use a CRM to keep track of your sales activities.
Personalize your sales outreach and nurture efforts as much as you can.
Streamline your sales outreach today with a free trial of Method CRM.
