By Sean M. Lyden

Effective customer follow-up is an essential activity to growing your business, especially in a challenging economy.  As you cultivate relationships with clients, you reap the benefits of repeat business and referrals, lowering your customer acquisition costs and shortening your sales cycle.  After all, it takes far less time and money to sell to an existing customer who knows and trusts you, than to a cold prospect.

What are some affordable and effective ways to follow up with customers – and motivate them to keep coming back to you?  Here are 9 tools to get you started:

1. Thank-you notes: This is a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many entrepreneurs neglect to write thank-you notes–especially when they get really busy. Take the time to show your customers that you genuinely appreciate their business. They’ll remember your thoughtfulness because most of your competition won’t send out thank-you notes. For extra points, take the time to hand-write them.
2. Postcard mailings: If you target consumers, send out monthly mailings that make good refrigerator fodder, such as “Quote of the Month,” “Recipe of the Month” or useful tips on such topics as time-management, gardening or anything else that interests the bulk of your customers. Avoid being too promotional here. Just provide the kind of information that customers will want to hang on their fridge. The added benefit to you is that whenever guests visit your customers’ homes, they’ll see your name, potentially leading to conversations about your business.
3. E-mail updates/e-newsletter: Think of your e-mail update as a press release that you send to your customers. Providing them with regular product, service and customer updates via e-mail at least once per month will convey a sense of positive momentum. This keeps customers in the loop and, over time, gets them excited to be involved with you and motivates them to pass on referrals.  (For ideas and tips on your e-newsletter, check out this article by Gail Goodman on Entrepreneur.com: Keep Your Customers Reading.)
4. Getting together over coffee or lunch: Try to spend face time in a non-sales environment with your customers. Ask about their family, hobbies, personal goals and so forth. When you show customers that you really care about them on a personal level, they’re yours for life.
5. Birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions: These occasions are very important to your customers and their families and friends. Be among the few who actually remember a customer’s special days, and that customer will never forget you!
6. Follow up on well-being: For example, if you find that a customer’s wife has been sick, call periodically just to find out how she’s recovering.
7. Pass referrals: One of the most powerful ways to encourage loyalty in customers is to pass them referrals. When you get a chance, scroll through your customer database and think through people you know who might add value to your customers.
8. Entertaining at your home: Throw a party for your best customers. You’ll be amazed at how much rapport and goodwill you can build with people when you get them in your home environment. Your guests will also find value in your party as a networking opportunity for them.
9. Post-sale feedback: Demonstrate that you care about the quality of your service. Call customers and ask them questions like:

• Are you pleased with the service you received?
• What did you like most about working with us?
• What would you like to see improved?

Without this invaluable information, you’ll have a hard time improving your products and services. Besides, when you ask customers for feedback and implement their comments, they feel a sense of ownership in what you’re doing and thus become more loyal to your products and services.

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Sean M. Lyden is Chief Operating Officer at Marketing Matters, a Hollywood, FL-based integrated marketing agency that offers clients a full range of tools (PR, Advertising, Interactive, Social Media, Custom Publishing – or whatever it takes) to fill their pipelines with new business. A nationally recognized author and speaker on sales, marketing, and business management issues, Lyden’s articles have been published in Entrepreneur, Yahoo! Small Business, Enterprise Systems Journal, Automotive Fleet, and several other media outlets. 

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By Kyle E. Glass

Over the past few months the team here at Marketing Matters has taken steps to hone in on better work practices and procedures. During this time, we’ve also been taking a look at ways to increase leads to bring in new business.

As part of that outreach, my coworkers and I have increased our networking schedule and have learned a great deal on how to be more effective in approaching how to network effectively. Here are a few of my “lessons learned.”

1. Don’t Sell to Me, I’m Selling to You

This is by far my most frustrating issue with networking. Nearly everyone networks for selfish reasons; to raise their sales. But if no one is interested in what you are saying because they’re too busy trying to sale their product, communication breaks down. Your initial interest should be building a relationship and gaining credibility. Use it as an opportunity to get to know them by asking questions about their business, their hobbies, and so forth

2. Add Value to the Relationship

Listen for ways that you can help other people, especially in ways that don’t include your product or service. For example, think about who you could connect that person with.  Perhaps you know someone who could use his services.  Or, she’s looking to fill a position in her business and you know someone who would be a great fit.  When you connect the right people together, everyone benefits.

Another way to add value to the relationship is to personalize your business card by hand writing your cell phone number or a small note. Also make sure to write a note on the cards you receive to remind yourself who they are and what you talked about, especially if you come across something during the conversation that could be useful in the future. They’ll be very grateful, and you’ll make a lasting impression if you remember they have two kids, one of which is starting college in the fall.

3. The Forum, Format, and a Cause

The problem is, most of the networking forums I’ve attended are constructed in a way that allows each person to give their five minute elevator pitch and get on down the bar. Networking groups should provide more. They should provide a forum that is conducive to building credibility and trust all the while being in an environment that you’re comfortable with.

As with anything, you reap what you sow, and you have to put in the time and associate with the same people meeting after meeting. Fraternities are great for this, including organization like the Moose Lodge, Elks Lodge, or Knights of Columbus, as they all provide stable networking opportunities. Aside from being a member of the VFW, I also attend the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce “leads group” every Thursday. If you’re not familiar with a leads group concept, I meet with the same people every week to discuss business topics and exchange leads I have gotten for others in my group. Great opportunity if you’re ever invited. If not, make your own.

If you are seen as someone who has the intent of doing good for others, people will be more apt to trust you. I think networking groups should provide a service aspect. If you’ve ever cleaned a highway with someone, or dished out soup next to a stranger, you’re building a bond of trust with those people. This means joining groups like the Rotary and Key Clubs are great for networking.

My point isn’t that most networking events are useless. It’s just that most are formatted in a way that makes it good for only making acquaintances – at least initially. You need to then take it upon yourself, after the event, to grow those relationships into trusted business relationships and partnerships. Ask them to meet for coffee, take them to lunch, stop by their office, or in some way connect with them. You can network smarter by choosing a balance of different formats, as opposed to a schedule full of acquaintance-making events which is ineffective without putting in hours afterward.

Perhaps you have some to share networking tips to share, as well.

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By Sean M. Lyden

When times were great, you could hardly keep up with all the business, let alone make time for marketing. After all, why invest time and money in marketing, when you’re having to turn away clients?

Then came the recession, and your sales hit the wall. Now, you find yourself scrambling to ramp up your marketing efforts from scratch.

Where do you begin to re-fill your pipeline? How do you keep it flowing with new prospects, especially when you get real busy again? How do you create a more dependable, steady sales cycle during these unsteady economic times?

Begin by observing the law of the harvest. In order to reap consistent sales, you must regularly sow the right activities to achieve your goals. So think of your marketing as three distinct phases: sowing, cultivating and reaping. This way, when you’re reaping a new contract, you’re still working other tasks (such as prospecting and follow-up calls) today that will lead to a harvest of sales tomorrow, the next day and so forth.

So take a sheet of paper, or simply use a journal or day-timer, and divide it into three equal columns with the headers “Sowing,” “Cultivating” and “Reaping.” Then plan your day with specific activities listed under each column. What tasks fit which category? Here’s a breakdown for you.

Sowing = Prospecting
In order to grow your business, you must do things on a daily basis to keep your name in front of customers. In other words, you’re trying to sow the seed of your message in the minds of as many qualified prospects as possible. How do you go about achieving this objective? Here are a few avenues to consider:

• Attending networking events
• Sending out direct mailers
• Cold-calling prospective customers
• Placing ads in the Yellow Pages, print publications and the broadcast media, or on the Internet
• Teaching seminars
• Generating media coverage
• E-mail prospecting
• Asking customers and other contacts for referrals
• Organizing charity events

Ask yourself: “What three to five tasks should I do today to put my name in front of more new prospects?” Then make those activities part of your plan for the day.

Cultivating = Following Up
Once you’ve established contact with prospects, how do you cultivate the relationship? This is your follow-up phase. These people already know about you. Now you’re looking for ways to nudge them closer to buying from you. There are a number of ways to accomplishing this objective, including:

• Periodic newsletters/e-newsletters
• Birthday and anniversary cards
• Special announcements letting prospects know about great deals, new products or services, special events and so on
• Courtesy follow-up phone calls
• Follow-up meetings

The idea here is to plan activities to build as much rapport as possible with your prospects and give them more and more reasons to do business with you—instead of a competitor.

Reaping = Closing the Deal
This is the fun part! You’ve done the hard work—now it’s time to get paid. When you list your deal-closing activities for each day, you boost your motivation to keep doing the prospecting and follow-up tasks you need to succeed.

So, don’t depend on luck to help you build your business. Make things happen! As the late motivational author and speaker Earl Nightingale put it, “Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity.” When you sow the right activities and spend time cultivating relationships with your prospects on a daily basis, you’ll reap a continuous harvest of sales and exciting opportunities!

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Sean M. Lyden is Chief Operating Officer at Marketing Matters, a Hollywood, FL-based integrated marketing agency that offers clients a full range of tools (PR, Advertising, Interactive, Social Media, Custom Publishing – or whatever it takes) to fill their pipelines with new business. A nationally recognized author and speaker on sales, marketing, and business management issues, Lyden’s articles have been published in Entrepreneur, Yahoo! Small Business, Enterprise Systems Journal, Automotive Fleet, and several other media outlets. 

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