Lynchburg Business

The Importance of the Follow-up

Issue: April 2010 by David Norcross in Inside The Magazine, Marketing & Sales

How often do you stay in touch with your current customers or prospective customers? Do you have a follow-up system in place? So often, businesses of all sizes get SO stuck in the quagmire of the normal business routine that they forget to stay in touch with their customers. As a result, they become complacent with their current level of business and ultimately end up taking their customer base for granted. If you think that your customers are going to stay with you just because they have purchased from you once or twice, then get ready to lose out to your competition!

In today’s ever changing marketplace, businesses are constantly developing new and innovative ways of serving their customers and attracting prospects. Retaining a client base is more difficult now than ever before simply because the grass really does appear greener on the other side. So what do you do about it? How do you stop your customers from going to the competition while keeping a steady stream of prospects ringing your phone or walking through your door?

Most customers are not going to purchase from you simply because they purchased from you one time, even if their buying experience was great and service was impeccable. If you do not stay in touch with your customers, they will simply go to someone else. Loyalty is still out there however, as always, loyalty must be earned and never assumed. The same applies to your prospects. Let’s face it: You are an inconvenience to your prospective customers simply because it’s a lot of trouble to switch suppliers or try someone new. There is a fair amount of risk involved, too. Statistically speaking, a prospect must be contacted in some way or another at least seven times before they will purchase. The same applies to your current customer base. If you do not stay in touch with your customers, you are running a huge risk of being forgotten. Don’t let that happen to you!

Let’s look at a few basic steps to help start building a system to stay in front of your clients. First and foremost, you have to step back and look at your customer base and your list of prospects. Do you have this list in a manageable form? So often, I run across businesses and sales people who have their client list in a book, a stack of business cards, on a piece of scratch paper or just simply scattered all over the place. Your database is just like gold and should be treated as such. Your customer database is the lifeline of your business!

Once you have your database into some sort of contact management software then it is important to develop a group of activity series within your database software that will automatically prompt you to stay in touch with your customers and prospects. These “touches” are very easy and require some form of contact or follow-up that will keep you in front of the person who will purchase your product or service. Some examples are a simple phone call, e-mail broadcast, a post on Facebook or Twitter, a print ad, letter or even a hand-written note.

Following up does not require an enormous marketing budget. In fact, if you own a phone then your only investment is your time. The question that every business and organization must ask is, “Just how important are customers to our business success?” Obviously, you know the answer to that question. Therefore, the real question is, “Do I treat my customers and prospects like they are important?”

As I pen this article, I think back over the years to the people that I have done business with. It does not matter if I am purchasing a car, something for my home or even clothes, I have consistently purchased from sales people and businesses who have demonstrated to me that they value my business through consistent follow-up. Sure, we all buy from time to time on impulse. However, the sales process is just that—a process that develops over time. The business or sales person who has a plan in place to help that process along through consistent follow-ups is the one who will succeed time after time.

We often talk about the economy and how we have been in the “downturn” for a while now. Do not get caught up on all of this hype on good times versus bad times. Please take this time to start centering your sales and marketing efforts around the fundamentals. Sometimes, I stand back in wonderment when I hear a sales person say, “My phone has stopped ringing.” Hello? When did you start standing back and waiting for customers to call you? When you stay in touch with your customers, you will begin to build the relationship and the trust necessary for them to want to do business with you.

Increasing your sales centers around building solid relationships. Follow up to show your desire to build a relationship with your customers and prospective clients. Regardless of which method you use, staying in touch with your clients is crucial to the success of your business. There are many valuable tools today that make this process easy and affordable. From e-mail to cell phones to snail mail, the simple act of following up will grow your business to the next level.

Customers want someone that they can trust and rely on, and that person can be you. If you are not taking care of your customers then I promise you that someone else will. Until next time, make marketing your mission…everyday!