<\/a>When contractors are hurting for new business, most of them run to market with a lot of new ads.\u00a0 That isn’t a bad idea; however, this strategy overlooks the possible business that exists right in front of their noses: their previous clients.\u00a0 Past clients are generally a great source of new business either directly or through referrals.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to manage all the contacts you have made over the years is with some type of customer relationship management<\/a> program or CRM.\u00a0 Several software programs exist that will let contractors keep important information such as contact name, address and phone numbers along with job specifics.\u00a0 This will allow you to focus on certain customers for particular promotions.<\/p>\n

Another way to make use of your customer database is with a simple newsletter<\/a>.\u00a0 Sending an informative and non-salesy newsletter is a great way to keep past clients informed of the latest developments with your company.\u00a0 Most newsletters can be delivered as a printed version or via email.\u00a0 By having multiple forms of distribution, you are able to reach people based on their preferred method of communication.<\/p>\n

Finally, a CRM will allow you a quick and simple way to send out scheduled greetings or seasonal promotions.\u00a0 Sending out cards around the holidays is a breeze as most CRM programs have a mail merge function that allows you to create your mailing labels that you can affix to whatever it is you are sending.\u00a0 You could really stand out from the crowd and send cards on people\u2019s birthdays.\u00a0 For contractors involved in industries where they perform maintenance for home owners, sending a card every quarter or semi annually could be a great way to boost income with little effort or cost.<\/p>\n

My point is staying in front of old customers will help bring in new ones…without a large marketing budget!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When contractors are hurting for new business, most of them run to market with a lot of new ads.\u00a0 That isn’t a bad idea; however, this strategy overlooks the possible business that exists right in front of their noses: their previous clients.\u00a0 Past clients are generally a great source of new business either directly or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[48,86,87,88,89,4,90,91],"class_list":{"0":"post-797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-contractor-marketing","7":"tag-contractor-marketing-online","8":"tag-crm-programs","9":"tag-customer-database","10":"tag-customer-relationship-management","11":"tag-mailing-labels","12":"tag-marketing-advertising","13":"tag-marketing-budget","14":"tag-seasonal-promotions","15":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n