The Secret's Out
The one marketing rule you absolutely must know for the new millenium.
Want to grow your small company with the brilliance of a
marketer from Mensa? Want a business-building strategy that would
have Bill Gates groveling at your feet? Want to pull it off without
breaking a sweat or breaking the bank? No problem. Just reach out
to your existing customer base--whether that's three customers
or 3,000--as Entrepreneur's marketing experts have long
recommended. As we begin a new era of more sophisticated
company-to-customer interactivity, this approach becomes even more
potent as a marketing tool . . . and, we felt,
merited a special update to brief you on all the possibilities as
we quickly approach the new millennium.
We've all seen and admired examples of marketing genius over
the past few decades--like that of Walter E. Diemer, who died
recently at age 93 and who sold us on a gooey pink substance called
"Double Bubble" chewing gum. And let's not forget
whoever talked us into potbellied pigs for pets. But in 2000 and
beyond, the golden statuettes for marketing genius will be handed
out to entrepreneurs of another sort: those who realize the
smartest marketing move is to develop unbreakable relationships
with their current customers.
Yes, start-up companies will always need to beat the bushes for
new customers. But once you're up and running, selling more
goods to fewer people is not only more efficient, it's also far
more profitable. Plus, for many companies, old customers are often
the best source of new customers. But more on that topic later.
Content Continues Below