Staying in touch with your clients in 2021
Outreach!
It is not enough to sit and expect clients to contact you. No matter the relationship, you cannot expect them to call you when they need something. Therefore, you must stay in contact with them at all times. Here are some wonderful ideas to make that happen. This is what is called Client Relationship Management.
[1]As a small business, building a good relationship with your previous or existing customers is really important. Not only are they likely to provide you with repeat business, but they may also refer you and write raving online reviews about you.
But how do you stay in touch with past and existing customers without being too pushy? You don’t want to be annoying or overly sales-oriented and put people off.
Instead, you want to create genuine and meaningful relationships with your clients or customers. To do this, make sure you’re always providing something helpful and relevant – and be friendly too, of course!
1. Write a regular newsletter
Writing an email newsletter is one of the easiest ways to stay in touch with existing customers. Make sure to include lots of useful information such as the latest news, special offers for your customers and expert tips exclusive to the newsletter.
This is a quick and easy way to keep in touch as you can contact hundreds of people simultaneously. Just make sure you have your customer’s permission to add them to the newsletter (especially since GDPR). Nobody likes being added to a mailing list out of the blue!
2. Invite them to events and workshops
If you’re running an event or workshop, invite your previous and current clients along. This is a great opportunity to meet with your clients face-to-face for a chat and provide them with helpful information or skills.
Even if you’re not running an event yourself, keep an eye out for any other relevant workshops, you could invite them to. They will really appreciate the personalized service from you.
3. Start a referral programme
Everyone loves getting a freebie or a bonus, so why not set up a referral or loyalty programme to reward your existing clients? There are lots of options for rewards, whether you’re a service or product-based business, for example:
- £50 cash bonus for every new client they refer
- 10% off their next monthly bill for every new client they refer
- 1 free product for every 9 orders they place
If a client has enjoyed working with you, the loyalty rewards will incentivize them to recommend you. Make sure to choose the rewards carefully, so they fit in with your business and are also helpful for your customers.
4. Stay in touch on special occasions
Congratulate your customers on their birthday or anniversary, or wish them well at Christmas or New Year. This could be through your newsletter, a personalized email, a social media message or a good old-fashioned card.
This is a great way to build a relationship with your customers, so they’ll think of you if they need additional services or products in the future.
5. [2]Send Text Messages
If you have a small client list and want to keep everyone up to date personally, a quick text is an easy and non-invasive way to share short bursts of information. You can either reach out to people individually or send a text blast if you have customers who have signed up for text updates.
6. Make Phone Calls
If your business has a few important clients you really focus on, you may want to reach out to them personally by phone. Make sure they know about any changes to your business and answer questions they may have.
7. Start a Video Chat
Video chat is another option that’s perfect for businesses with clients they work with regularly. But, again, this is ideal for communicating with those you may otherwise meet face-to-face or in instances where you may need to share visuals.
8. Use Chat Apps
Chat apps like Facebook and WhatsApp can be precious if you need to provide virtual customer support to your customers in real-time. For example, you can easily share the link to your chat profile so people can reach out to you when they have questions. Or you can send out individual messages if you have relevant updates.
9. Host Livestreams
Another real-time option for communicating with customers, hosting a live stream, allows you to broadcast video messages and interact with viewers. You might host a Q&A session, simple announcement, or some demonstration to help customers during this time.
10. [3]Create a database
Before you do anything else, create a spreadsheet detailing all of your existing clients. Type in their names, phone numbers, email addresses, Twitter accounts – anything that will help you stay in touch. Add notes about how they like to be contacted, i.e. some might only like telephones while others might prefer email.
If you can afford it, choose a CRM tool so you never lose track of a client or customer again. Creative Boom has its suggestions on CRM software tools for small business owners, so take a look at those.
Actions speak louder than words, especially during a time like this. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do to really stay top of mind with customers is to provide them with something they really need or want during this time. This will look different for every business and may not be possible for some. But for example, a carryout restaurant might offer free delivery to medical workers and first responders. Or an online business that sells virtual courses could make certain content free so people can learn a new skill while they’re sheltering in place. It may not make financial sense in the short term, but people may remember the gesture later on when they can afford to buy additional products or services.
Conclusion:
Never take your clients for granted. They can leave without reason, so keep in touch with them every month!
Articles compiled by hughesagency.ca
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