If you aren't capturing the names and contact information for people who buy from your store, visit your website, or call your office, you're losing sales.

That's because the real profit in most businesses comes from getting customers or prospects to come back to your store or website more than once. If you sell a high-priced product or service, a single visit may not be enough to land the sale. The customer may be just starting their research process before making a purchase. If you sell lower-priced goods or services, the first sale may be only one of many similar purchases the customer will make over a period of time. You'll stretch your marketing dollars and boost your bottom line by getting those customers to visit and buy repeatedly from you.

Get customers to give you their contact information by having a signup sheet or form customers can fill out near your cash register or some other prominent place in the store. If you sell at trade shows, have a fishbowl to collect business cards. Attach a sign to it that tells passersby who should leave their contact information and why. If you have a website (and you should), have a form on your website to allow visitors to enter their email address to sign up for your mailing list.

Don't forget to send mailings to your prospects and customers on a regular basis. Send news about new products or services, information about sales, or a newsletter about your area of expertise. Doing so will help you land new business and repeat sales.

Learn to use database marketing to improve your profitability

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