Your Clients
You know how to provide a great product or service, and make sure your client gets just what they need when you’re working on their project. But then what happens? Do you keep in touch with your customer after the sale? Do you make sure they still feel important, and valued?
It is a common complaint in the corporate world that the sales department will promise whatever the client wants to close the sale. Then, it’s up to another department to fulfil the promises. But – what happens in a small business when YOU are the salesperson, marketing department, and operating officer? Don’t let the allure of a “shiny new client” outweigh the importance of nurturing the customer who has already invested in you.
It cost six times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep a current customer. If you don’t nurture your customer before AND after the sale, you are doing a disservice to your business. After all, in our world where we hear the phrase “know, like, and trust” far too often, you don’t want to ruin the relationship you worked so hard to build in the first place.
What are you doing in your business to keep in touch with your clients? Newsletters and social media are two easy and inexpensive ways to do this, but I encourage you to think bigger, and take a more personal approach – an occasional handwritten card, a personal email, or a small, customized gift can go a long way to keeping YOU and your amazing customer service top of mind.
Other Relationships – Strategic Alliances, Influencers, & Your Team
Customer and prospect relationships aren’t the only important connections you need to nurture and support. You also need to cultivate your relationships with your strategic alliances, influencers in your industry, and your own team.
Be sure to keep in touch with your strategic alliances and community influencers. Do they have needs you can help them with? Are there changes in their business or industry? Who do they need to be connected to – maybe you can make that happen for them. This relationship management helps to keep you in their thoughts and the simple law of reciprocity means they will want to be a connector for you as well!
Finally, manage your relationships within your own team. Even though you see them regularly, be sure their needs are being met and they feel supported in their roles. Give them the tools they need to do the job you hired them to do, and be sure to follow through on your own promises.
The Takeaway
Take advantage of the fact that relationship management IS a dying art. So many business owners are moving on to the next big thing they don’t take the time to follow through, follow up, and remain top of mind. Stand out and prosper!
What changes will you make in your business or the way you manage your relationships?