I was prompted to write this post by something that has happened to our business To Market over the last few days. Keeping in touch with previous customers is one of our central philosophies and recently it has rewarded us well.
Sometimes, customers drift away for all variety of reasons. Sometimes they will not be in the market for your types of products or services for a long period of time. Alternatively, they may (horror of horrors) start buying from someone else. However it doesn’t matter. Keep in touch. The regularity is down to you, you’ll have to make a judgement call.
Building customer loyalty is about many things
Based on the philosophy that people buy from people, they will more likely remember you if you maintain contact, and you will get your chance at some point.
Communication tips
Some key advice about your communication style ;
- Keep it light, don’t make every call salesy
- Always be friendly (as if you’re not stressed about the fact they’re not buying from you)
- Always professional
- Display empathy (don’t try to make them feel guilty they’re not buying from you)
In the last 7 days, we’ve finally managed to get back in to see a client that we’ve not dealt with for close on 5 years. The key decision maker I’m meeting wasn’t even there 5 years ago, but his number 2 was, and she always speaks highly of the work we did together and the impact on her team. I believe she put in a good word and that’s often all it takes.
The first training programme booked in the new year was with a company I last trained at nearly 8 years ago! I’m dealing with the same contact, but having met her director, the training programme has now been approved and booked.
In both cases I’ve maintained contact with these clients, as well as 2,000 others. For the sake of the occasional phone call, you can reap significant rewards.
All sales teams and all telesales and telemarketing teams should be doing this. You will of course also need a good, reliable CRM system or a spreadsheet at least that allows you to manage this process with ease.
If you need any advice or tips on how to achieve this, give Andrew a call on 01858 461148.
To Market telesales and telemarketing training across the Midlands ; Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Lichfield, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Warwick, Stratford-on-Avon, Milton Keynes, Loughborough, Northampton, Kettering, Market Harborough, Corby, Wellingborough, Cambridge, Newmarket, St Ives as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and the West Midlands.