Retain and grow your customer base

Your customer database provides information that you can use to increase sales. For example, you could:

• offer rewards to current customers if they introduce new customers to your business
• ask customers for testimonials about your business, for use in sales and publicity material
• ask business customers about their plans and offer to work with them on their new projects
• find out who your most valuable groups of customers are so that you can target new customers in the same groups
• tell customers about new, upgraded or related products
• communicate regularly with customers through emails or newsletters

You can use your customer database to maximise Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). This is a measure of the profit you retain from selling to a customer or groups of customers, set against the cost of marketing to those customers.

You may, for example, be able to up-sell - explaining why a higher priced product would suit them better. You may also find opportunities to cross-sell other products that fit their profile. For example, customers buying paint from a builders' merchant may also be in the market for small tools, nails and screws.