Don’t Leave Money On The Table.

 

I looked at them with envy.

No, I am not proud of this, but I did.

Looking at the happy family of four located behind the “reserved” roping made me long even more for unobstructed front-row views, warm hot chocolate that I could drink without having it knocked out of my hand, and an inviting bench to sit on.

My feet hurt, my oldest was cranky and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get our double stroller through the crowds and if we did, how many innocent swollen feet I would need to run over in the process.  I gave the relaxed family with the great view one last glance and moved on toward the exit as we fought our way back to our hotel to collapse into bed.

I REALLY WANTED IN

My family and I were at Disney and what I wanted and couldn’t have was VIP Park Tour Services.

I had been to Disney many times before and never knew that this service was available.  It wasn’t until I attended a Mastermind weekend hosted by my marketing mentor, Dan Kennedy that I discovered from him and a few others in the group who had used the service that Disney World offers an incredible VIP Park Guide option. This amazing package allows you to skip lines, view shows from reserved VIP seating and dine at any restaurant of your choosing without having to get on the list six months ahead of time (what I did to ensure my daughter got to dine in Cinderella’s Castle).  This VIP treatment takes away the only parts of the park I despise (the long lines, pushing and shoving through crowds and waiting times to eat) and man, I wanted in.

I went back to my hotel after my Mastermind Meeting to look up this magical service I had never heard about before and was delighted to find out it was as simple as requesting a VIP Tour Guide, paying a fee, and you would be good to go. The problem was, I was too late.  Our vacation was to start the next day and this service needed to be requested at least 72 hours ahead of time and even farther ahead of holiday weeks as was the case for the one we were visiting during.

THEY WOULDN’T TAKE MY MONEY

Here I was, wanting to give Disney more money for a service and couldn’t, and in the process, I was left frustrated and disappointed.

Again, not proud of this, but it’s the reality.  I like VIP services.  Always have, and will pay more to get them.  Upgrade me on a flight for a few bucks, I’m in.  Give me reserved seating at the window for a premium, sign me up.  My life is hectic and rushed, so if I can pay you to slow it down for a moment and minimize the hassle, I am more than happy to do so.

Disney lost out on a chance to get more money from me that I wanted to pay happily.

WHAT MONEY ARE YOU LEAVING ON THE TABLE?

Are you losing a chance to get more money from your customers?  Is there something you could do to remove a frustration or pain or fill a need that would be outside of the normal course of business that your customers would pay a premium for? Have you asked them about it?

Research your market and determine what would help make your customers’ lives better/easier/more pleasant.  If you can identify that, then you can charge for it.

It is time for you to create a new market standard and offer it only to your top tier who would be willing to pay a premium for it.  Don’t lose an opportunity to identify a frustration you could solve that could increase your bottom line. (Tweet this)

Along the lines of…

A drycleaner offering a premium option of one-hour dry cleaning or delivery of your clothes same-day

An attorney providing a notary who will come to your office to notarize on-demand for a fee

A monthly-membership club for a restaurant to provide guaranteed seating upon arrival

A sports stadium’s box seats with reserved parking and private dining options

THE PREMIUM YOU CAN ADD

 

How can you apply this same concept to your business to improve your bottom line?

 

Some potential premium services to offer that you could charge for:

VIP-only customer service number and/or website

VIP-only service hours

Front-of-the-line delivery or VIP-only cash registers

Guaranteed seating or service

Discount on products or services

VIP Customer-only events or service offerings

Of course there are many more things you could do and it will vary based on your service or product.  If people would like to give you more money, you should allow them to do it.  Increasing your per-customer value is a more profitable and faster path to increasing your revenue than acquiring new customers. (Tweet this)

 

FOCUS ON THE ROI

Focusing on increasing the value of your current customers allows you to increase your revenue with no need to purchase a list and no ads to buy, and there is a much shorter sales cycle.

Before you start your next marketing campaign, focus on how you could monetize the customers you already have.

 

P.S.  Want to learn more ways to increase your marketing ROI? Claim your $617 worth of free marketing resources here!