Are you marketing to your "solid gold?"

How much are you focusing your marketing on your customer database? As business owners, we can get so caught up in working for our existing customers and trying to find new customers that we miss out on two very good opportunities:

1. Asking current customers for referrals; and
2. Marketing to inactive customers.

In creating strategies to reach these two segments of your database, you'll be able to bring in business at a lesser cost. That's because it takes less time and effort to market to people who already know you than it does to find and sell to people who don't.

Create a campaign to gain the trust and business of your inactive customers. These customers know you and your company so the likelihood of them coming back to you for repeat business is greater.

When it comes to referrals, don't be afraid to ask. If you have loyal customers that love your service or product, they'll be all too happy to refer you to a family member, friend or associate.