Learning to Stand on Two Feet: The Perils of a Small Customer Base

Learning to Stand on Two Feet: The Perils of a Small Customer Base

Prevent Catastrophe by Constant Outreach

By Hale D. Cooper and Jack Dugan

    Many companies become stagnant for fear of losing their key customers. They spend too much time focusing on them and forget to expand. This leads to a loss of entrepreneurial focus, places too many eggs in one basket, and severely depletes morale. The company was on its last leg. There are ways you can avoid this. Our experience with one company in the aerospace industry taught us this valuable lesson- constant outreach is key.

    Our client, Acme Aerospace, Inc, was founded in 1953 and had been dedicated to one customer since then. Sales were stagnant. The founder was the real driver of business, and he was comfortable. Suddenly, he passed away. The staff was holding on for dear life. Acme Aerospace, Inc had a bleak future. We approached the issue the same way anyone can. Here’s how:

• Reignite existing relationships. By attending industry seminars and trade events where the usual players are, we let potential customers know Acme was still in the game. The company wasn’t dying with its owner. This not only created new momentum but allowed us to gather intelligence and refresh our contacts. It also reassured the few key customers that kept acme in business for half-a-decade.

• Identify new opportunities in the current market. After igniting the old relationships, we learned of new opportunities from simple word of mouth based on Acme’s existing reputation. For example, we brought the manufacturing line to life by taking advantage of existing OEM opportunities. You could literally see the change in attitude on the employees’ faces. The faces screamed “We’re not going to lose our jobs!”. This was by far the greatest reward.

• Take advantage of opportunities in new markets. With a new vigor and lots of chatter going on in Acme’s traditional market, we opened up new opportunities for new products from some of the new OEM clients we had picked up. The results were a game changer.

    Within 18 months we increased sales at Acme Aerospace, Inc by 30 percent! That was an increase of $2 million in revenue. All we did was provide new and, most importantly, constant outreach to existing and potential customers. You never know what your customers need until you provide it for them. Today the company remains not only viable, but it is a leader in its sector.

    If a company that is barely standing on one leg following the death of its owner can turn around and not only survive but grow, imagine what you can do with the same strategy. Sometimes achieving these results can come from within or outside of a company. It really depends on the situation. No company should ever be slack in its outreach efforts. This is the bread and butter of learning to stand on two legs when it comes to your customers.

Hale D. Cooper and Jack Dugan are two principles of Windward Group International, NA, a group with more than 100 years in strategic planning and sales experience that helps business to business clients achieve their goals by changing the bottom line. “Acme Aerospace, Inc.” is a fictional name used to replace the name of the actual company.