SO EASY, YET WHY DON'T WE DO IT..........

to our customers ……………….Why do we treat them so badly?

So before we move onto the next part of the battlefield, new business (sends a chill down the back of many a grown man and woman), let’s put some meat around the bones of keeping, nurturing and developing our present customer base.

As per the last post, you should have sorted your users/customers into a structured call cycle – planning/time management/100 of energy being the key drivers, but the ultimate driver is that you want to keep them as your user, they are your ally in this war we must win.

There are two types of users;
those you have inherited and
those you have turned into customers.

So let us decide on the WINNING approach to the latter;

“Those YOU have turned into customers”

I don’t care what you sell photocopiers, widgets for machines, real estate, plastic bags, automobiles, or your services, YOU MUST, ABSOLUTELY MUST, CATERGORICALLY MUST, only think of the sale when you have thanked the customer, after they have received the product or service, for their business. The longest journey starts with the first step, and this is that FIRST STEP. Before you say “well we have a call center that does that” …WRONG, they bought yours or your companies product from YOU – didn’t they.

So the call cycle begins with this first step. This first step is completed by any or all of the following ;

A letter , stating how you are thankful for the business, their choice was a wise one, supporting third party reviews or tests, include all useful contact numbers INCLUDEING YOUR OWN.

A visit, where you show the new owner how it works, how to get the best out of it etc

A simple, phone call.

Please reread the above, and answer, honestly, these two questions;

How often have you done this?

Or it has been done to you?

I can guess the answer

A perfect example is buying a house or real estate .My age, unfortunately, has seen me buy, rent, sell houses with monotonous frequency. This is the pattern, you are promised the earth, pay the earth, your house is sold and then NOTHING.



The two opportunities for taking the first step (and most missed) are as follows;

1.The new owner could be contacted by the agent, to ask if everything is OK in their new home, be provided with a pack of doctors, vets,dentists,grocers names, numbers and the reassurance if there is any further need for assistance or advice, your business card is for their reference – you enter their name into your personal database

2.The seller has now moved on either in the area or out of it. Nevertheless he or she has friends, would it be great for them to volunteer the agents exceptional service, how even after the sale the agent thanked them for their business, by call, letter or visit.

Note: both sides of the transaction are now feeling good, their choice was the right one, and they feel valued. The agent has secured a customer and increased his/her referall base by 100% - IT IS, YOU MUST AGREE, SO EASY – SO WHY DON’T WE/YOU DO IT?

My second example, the purchase of a motor vehicle, this one is even simpler to achieve, by retaining a customer and growing a referral base – remember we are talking about the first step. Now they say if you are having a bad day in sales , go and listen to a car salesman. In this day and age where information is but a mouse click away, the consumer is pretty well informed. But we want to keep these consumers, by making an impact right from the word go, and keep them as our allies as we talk and correspond with them – hopefully for a lifetime.

We have all bought cars, usually from those garages, where during the day you see the sales execs filling their time until the busy period of weekends or Bank Holidays arrive. You pick a car, you pay the money, you collect the car, it may or may not have a bunch of flowers in it – 9 times out of 10, that is the end of it. Yes, from time to time you may get a mail shot (more of them later), telling you of the special offer on the latest MercdAudi XFT, but I bet that is it.

Now consider the following scenario;

You collect the car, a day later your sales executive calls you, ensures everything is OK and tells you that you have made a great choice, it is a premium car ( whether it is or not is immaterial) , advises you of what grade of gas/fuel to use, some great roads for a day out etc etc , WOW WOULD THAT NOT BE DIFFERENT, AND MEMORABLE.

If you consider how important this first step is , and how important the return is , you would think it requires a massive investment of time and/or money – HELLO, a phone call (using your hands free kit) driving between appointments, a handwritten letter in between those busy moments, an email whilst your surfing the net for business related information ( who are you kidding) ,an extra visit on the way home , YOU HAVE GOT IT, YOUR INVESTMENT IS NOTHING - COMPARED TO THE VALUE THIS EXERCISE WILL ADD TO YOUR BUSINESS

LOYAL, VALUED CUSTOMERS ARE DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN BUT SO EASY TO LOSE CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER VIEW OF THEIR IMPORTANCE TO YOU

Next post , the first contact with CUSTOMERS, you have inherited.....................