When you first set up your business, you were probably happy to get customers from anywhere you could find them, without being too discerning. Now you’ve established yourself; it’s time to refocus your efforts on the clients who have deeper pockets and desire the best products and services.
These are the high-end clients, every entrepreneur’s dream catches. Having a core of high-end clients is far more lucrative than having multiple smaller accounts that take a lot of work but return meager profits. High-end clients are people who can make a substantial contribution to the success of your business, but winning them can be a challenge.
Pricing
High-end clients expect to pay more for what they buy because to get the best, they know they have to pay top dollar. Therefore, if your pricing is average or below the market, you’ll never gain these elite clients, because the pricing tells them your product isn’t of the standard they expect. It could be that your product is far superior to your competitors, but if that’s not reflected in the price, the message simply won’t be received.
It can be hard to make the adjustment from pricing competitively to placing your business at the top of the tree and increasing your charges accordingly. However, to attract the wealthiest customers, you need to position yourself as the best in your field, and they expect your pricing to reflect this.
Promoting your business
If you want to attract the attention of the best-paying clients, every detail of your business has to be a statement of quality. Your website should be professionally designed and fully functional, andbe focused on the quality of your products rather than their price. Use commissioned photographs rather than buying stock images that could be seen on other sites, aim your content at the interests of the higher end clientele, and provide the most up to date services and facilities on your site.
Your business premises also need to be immaculate and represent the quality of your offer. Even if clients aren’t likely to be visiting in person, that doesn’t mean they won’t.When someone’s paying for high-qualityservice, they often want to see behind the scenes to ensure the business can deliver what they promise. Staff need to be well turned out and provide exceptional customer service and don’t forget the small details like professional branding and the use of superior materials, even down to sundries such as paper and envelopes.
Giving high-end clients something extra
If someone is putting a substantial amount of cash into your business, it’s only reasonable to give them special privileges that aren’t available to other clients. For example, if you are an accountant, you could have a premium client service that provides extra facilities for your best clients. It could be anything that adds real value to your offer, whether that’s personal visits, a more in-depth analysis of their finances, or an add-on service that is exclusive to them.
Another way to emphasize the value you place on your high-end clients is to provide entertainment and leisure facilities such as entertaining them on your boat or flying them to your hunting lodge for the weekend in your private plane. That may sound extravagant, but if you have a boat, plane, lodge, or anything else that could be made use of, it’s a perk that’s worth considering. Privately owned leisure facilities can be eligible for tax expense claims when used for business-related purposes, and if you buy a boat or a plane to use for the business, you could claim further costs as well.
The subject of expense claims for tax is somewhat complex, so before you start browsing through luxury yacht brochures, check the specifics as they would apply to your business with the IRS. You also need to make sure your facilities are top notch if you want to impress your high-end clients. A boat that’s moored at a run-down marina or tied to a shabby dock is going to do your cause more harm than good, so assess your assets before using them, and learn more about how to improve your facilities to make them suitable for your elite clients, for example, building a new custom dock.
Emphasize your authority
Even if your business is still relatively new, to attract the best clients you have to impress them with your expertise and the authority you have in your sector. You should be doing this anyway as part of your marketing, for instance with your business blog, email lists, and advertising. Now it’s time to take this activity to the next level. You could place adverts in publications that are only read by the elite, or start a multimedia campaign using television, radio, and cinema advertising in addition to printed and online placements.
Try to forge links with recognized names in your niche, that will impress your potential high-end clients. That could be an authoritative publication, organization, or website, which features your business and endorses them. It could be reviews by respected experts in the field or endorsements from influencers operating in your sector.
Another excellent way to establish your authority and create a powerful marketing tool at the same time is to write a business book. That might sound like hard work, especially if you don’t enjoy writing, but do some research into the possibility.You might be surprised at the fresh approach you could use to inform and entertain, and there are plenty of courses and guides available to help you complete the project.
Conclusion
Taking your business to the next level might seem like a scary prospect, and if you’re making a reasonable income with your existing clients, you could be wondering whether it’s worth the effort. Bear in mind that if you have several well-paying clients, you can make significantly higher profits for the same investment of time and resources. You don’t need to change overnight, but put a plan in place to raise your profile and start reaping the rewards of having high-end clients.