Marketing to Existing Clients
By Walter Roy

When you are running a small business, sometimes the effort to attract new customers can feel so overwhelming that you can forget all about marketing to existing clients. There are very important reasons why it’s critical that when you put together your marketing plans, you incorporate enough effort into promotions directed toward your own customers.

**How Marketing to Existing Clients Works**

The danger of only offering promotions to potential clients is that you may find that you’re losing your existing clients to competitors. How does this happen? Essentially there are two forces at work when you offer enticements to prospective clients. First, your existing customers may learn about those promotional rates or discounts and become jealous or envious, feeling that they deserve the same discounts. Secondly, they may hear about current promotions with another Salon across town, and decide to take advantage of it.

**How Do You Retain Clients?**

The cost of retaining your existing clientele is so much less than the cost of attracting new business that you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you forget about this critical aspect of making a small business survive. Before you go out searching for new clients, make sure your current clients are treated like royalty. Some ideas to accomplish this include the following.

- Send existing clients an email or a short letter, reminding them of how much you appreciate their patronage, and as a token of your thanks you’re including a coupon for a discount off of their next haircut, or provide a gift certificate for a small free gift, like a bagel at the local coffee shop.
- Produce a regular email newsletter for your existing clients that includes articles or industry updates about the latest hairstyles or fashion and entertainment news. Include updates about your Salon, and include coupons or discounts for loyal customers.

Offering promotions to the larger community is always an excellent way to attract new clients and grow your business, but never neglect your existing customer base. By marketing to existing clients, you’ll be solidifying the foundation of your business as you continue to grow.

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