Stay In Touch With Your Business Customers
Your business customers are extremely busy people and they don't want their time wasted. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't stay in touch with them. A phone call to your customer is justified when you have a valid reason for calling. Your business customers will not mind frequent contacts as long as they trust that you are putting their business needs first. This is done by providing value. Value comes in many forms such as tips, information, resources, contacts, events, referrals and education. Here are examples of valid reasons to call your customers:
Invite your customer to be your guest at an event such as a professional association meeting where the speaker will be addressing a topic that is relevant to your customer's business.
Advise your customer of new products or services that will save time or money.
Ask your customer about changes in his or her business or industry.
Congratulate your customer on their good news such as acquiring a major new client, a job promotion, business growth and other successes.
Ask your customer to give you personal feedback on how well your company is performing when it comes to providing service.
There are other effective ways to stay in touch with your business customers.
Fax over articles that are pertinent to your customer's business.
Mail a copy of your favorite business book to your customer.
Use email to send tips and resource links that provide useful information for your customer.
Employees are on the move. It is highly likely that, in the near future, your business customer will change jobs and move to a different company. You will know that you have done a good job of building a solid relationship when your customer continues to conduct business with you after he or she has settled in at their new company. Because people leave, you need to build multiple relationships at each of your business accounts. Don't limit your business-to-business relationships to one or two employees in the company. Go wide and deep to make connections with as many key decision makers as possible. Get to know senior managers and include them on your contact list. Meet with a cross section of managers at all levels of the organization. Seek opportunities to connect with as many employees as possible. You are not in the product business, you are in the relationship business. Your products and services are secondary to the more important goal of building solid relationships with your business customers. They have many options available to them when they choose their vendors. When you stay in touch, you are letting your customers know how important they are to your company. This creates top-of-mind awareness about you and your products. The more you stay in touch, the more you will learn about what's important to your customers. Showing interest in your customers and their organization's business goals will increase your perceived value. When you become sufficiently valuable in your customers' eyes, they will be more likely to turn to you for solutions.
source: Debra Schmidt [newsletter@loyaltyleader.com]