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An Easy Way To Cultivate Relationships With Your Customers
04/13/2008 - By Charles Di Bartolo
Set a Plan to Build Customer Relationships
Every business owner knows the value of staying in touch with customers and clients, but how many of us set up a plan to contact our existing customers on a regular basis? I have a systematic approach that will pay big dividends if you follow it.
An Easy Way To Cultivate Relationships With Your Customers
Every business owner knows the value of staying in touch with customers and clients, but how many of us actually set up a plan to actively contact our existing customers on a regular basis? I have a systematic approach that will pay big dividends if you decide to follow it.
First take your existing business accounts and decide how many time a year you think you need to contact them to keep a quality relationship it may be once a month or once every two months. You may need to keep in touch with your customers more or less than that depending on your industry, and the frequency your competition actually calls them. Believe me your competition is calling them especially if you’re not.
Let’s say you have 500 customers and you’d like to contact them once every two months. If you work 250 days per year the equation would look like this:
500 customers x 6 contacts per year = 3000 contacts / 250 working days = 12 contacts per day.
If you want to keep a good rapore with 500 customers, and you feel you need to contact them once every two months to make them a good customer you need to make 12 contacts per day. If you scheduled 30 minutes a day to make a 2.5 minute contact with 12 customers a day your goal would be achieved.
Work this plan 30 minutes before you normally begin your workday and you will be light-years ahead of the competition. Remember that it costs six times more for the average business to find a new customer than to keep an existing one. That fact alone should be motivation enough to start a contact your customer program at your business.
If you call every morning using this plan for two weeks it will become habit. Keeping in touch with your customers is one of the best habits you can have. Don’t use this time to sell. Use this time to build relationships. The sales will follow. You want your customers to welcome your call.
It is helpful to set goals for your customer calling program. To start a plan use some of these questions to set the tone of your calls:
What message would you like to convey?
Do you want to leave the customer with some information or educational events on your industry?
Do you want to get to know more about your customers hobbies, family, interests, business needs etc.?
What will you say if you have to leave a message? Leave a message that conveys your concern for them or that you just wanted to see how they are doing.
Is there something you could let them know about that would help them in there business or personal lives?
Is there a special event like a birthday, customer anniversary, wedding anniversary or personal event that may have been published that you can congratulate them on?
Is there anything you can thank them for?
Etc.
When setting up your plan, a script can be helpful. If you use a script make sure that you have practiced it until it flows naturally. Keep copious notes on your telephone calls. These can come in handy, especially if your customer has questions or asks for something. Smile while speaking to your customers. Sit upright or stand. If your nervous pace because the movement can actually smooth out your nervousness. Keep your phone calls brief but friendly, and thank them for their time. Let them know you will be speaking with them again soon and follow through.
These types of calls can only help you to promote more productive relationships with your customers. Make a goal of a certain amount of contacts within a certain amount of time and stick to it. Keep a chart of your calls and watch your profits soar. It’s the right way to service our customers. They deserve a good relationship with you.
I wish you good luck and a thriving business.
Regards,
Charles Di Bartolo
http://www.BetterBizList.com
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