Most of our clients know that a treasure trove of business resides in their own database. Many aspiring cosmetic dentists are drawn to LVI because they hear that often more than $1M resides untapped in their patient bases. Our cosmetic surgeons know that birds of a feather flock together and a solid referral network can be the fast track to a successful and established practice. And our general business clients know that a good database is the gift that keeps on giving.
So, let’s start off 2011 talking about an important principle of 1:1 Marketing: Lifetime Value. There are many ways to evaluate a contact’s lifetime value: 1) in the dollars they spend, 2) in projecting the dollars they spend regularly with you for ongoing services and 3) in the new business they help you attract. There are other ways but these are three practical ways of evaluating Lifetime Value.
A smart businessperson does not see each client relationship as a single point in time. Just like a good car salesman or realtor, you should be after relationships with clients. A good salesman knows that if trust and value can be maintained that the same person will buy from them over and again as their needs change or renew. If you are not doing something to engender long-term relationships with your clients or patients, you are doing your business the hard way.
So, it is advisable to begin assigning Lifetime Value. The accounting part is easy but the networking part... that takes some work and smarts. Your best case scenario is to get as many of your satisfied patients/clients (I call them “Friendlies”) working on your behalf as foot soldiers. In other words, turning the passive activity of networking into an actively directed activity. Direction comes from you, the activity comes from your directed network of high Lifetime Value helpers.
1:1 Marketing has everything to do with metrics. We measure and adjust. You can measure what is on the surface and obvious to everyone or you can look for the telling statistics that guide you to great success on a relatively easy path. Lifetime Value is one of those metrics that is not on the surface. While most only focus for cash flow, it is important to take a little time out for analysis and develop some info on the Lifetime Value of your patients, clients and contacts. This sort of analysis will help you define what to do and who to do it with regarding building a sales effort based on a network. If you want guidance on developing a Directed Referral Network, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
