Don't let complacency and success ruin your business ; It costs five to 10 times more to win a new customer than to keep an existing one. John Downes looks at what you should do when you think your business is a success

Previous Business 2000 articles have focused on the challengesfacing entrepreneurs trying to get their fledgling business off theground.

Underlining the importance of persistence, innovation, leadershipand market research, we have outlined some of the key qualities ittakes to successfully build a business from scratch.

Now imagine that same business 20 years down the line.

Imagine also that it finds itself with a product (or products)which, though successfully established in the market, have seentheir sales stagnate: although they are not decreasing, they are notgetting any bigger, either.

This then gives rise to the risk that a new entrant to themarket, or even an existing competitor, could seek to take away someof its business.

Clearly, this poses a serious threat to our fictional company.

So what techniques could it employ to generate new sales of analready established product?

Mr Dermot McConkey is managing director of McConkey PerformanceManagement, which advises companies trying to increase their sales.

"One of the biggest obstacles is complacency, the idea that youcan leave well enough alone," he believes. The tendency is tobelieve that when I have got you on board, you'll come back to me.But it costs five to 10 times more to win a new customer than tokeep an existing customer you have a rapport and relationshipalready.

So it's what you do after you have done what you're expected todo that counts."

With this in mind, Mr McConkey says he tells his clients thatthey need to have knowledge of their products, customers and theirindustry; they must be proactive in their attitude, even in the faceof refusals; they need to be skilful enough to know what they aredoing; and they should develop good habits, such as time-managementand a healthy working routine.

There are also four key factors which, he says, are important inany attempt to generate new sales of an existing product:

- time - can people get the product any quicker?;

- money - can they get it any cheaper?;

- quality - is it a good label, for example, or does it provide agood service?; and

- quantity - how much of the product do you get for your money?

Any move in one of these could help the company sell more oftheir product, he says.

For example, a bank looking to market its products to its clientsmight make experts available to advise them, thereby increasing thequality of the service that the bank provides.

Equally, if a supermarket changes the price of a product, orintroduces a loyalty card scheme, it means customers are gettingmore value for their money, and might buy more of that product.

Selling, however, is not necessarily the same as marketing, saysMr McConkey.

"You are selling the sizzle in the sausage," he explains.

"It is a faith thing, you are getting people to try out a productby selling, you are getting people to want your product. To getsomeone to act, you have to make them realise they will havesomething they didn't have before."

With this in mind, Mr McConkey believes it is essential thatcompanies regularly train their staff in how best to increase theirsales.

The most accomplished sellers he knows are those who are able toidentify what their prospective customer wants, he says.

Ms Sam Fitzpatrick, communications manager with MusgraveSuperValu-Centra, agrees that the most important starting point is agood knowledge of your target market.

One of the best ways to do this, she says, is through marketresearch conducted with the ultimate aim of increasing sales.

"It's about knowing your customer's needs and wants," she says."You need to know who exactly your customer is, and clarify that youare actually marketing to the right person."

This can be achieved through in-store promotions, such as "buyone, get one free" offers, for example, or special price reductions,she says.

But while a price promotion will appeal to all consumers, withother types of promotion the critical importance of good marketresearch again becomes clear: it is essential to tailor anypromotional programme to your target market.

For example, a student will have very different priorities than ahousewife out shopping for her family.

"When you are trying to revitalise sales, you need to look at newavenues as well," she says.

"For example, home delivery or internet orders some of our storeswould do a lot of email business, with people emailing in theirlists at lunchtime and picking it up on their way home," she says.

As we have seen, generating new sales of an existing productclearly requires a large amount of planning, enthusiasm, energy andmarket knowledge.

It is interesting to note, then, the close similarities betweenthese attributes and those which are so important even when you areonly starting out.