Don’t Be a Stranger to your Customers. Remember everyone would prefer doing business with a friend instead of a stranger

In business staying in touch with your customers has never been easier. With so many modern day methods of letting customers know you appreciate their business, a formal plan of staying connected is essential to continued business growth.

One great way to distinguish yourself from your competitors is by regularly communicating with your customers. This regular communication, through newsletters, face to face encounters, emails, personal notes and gifts, creates a connection which strengthens your business relationship. You are no longer an anonymous vendor of a product or service, but a trusted friend.

As with all business strategies, the approach of staying connected with your customers requires a goal and a review process which needs to occur regularly. The goal is quite simple; treat your customers as you would like to be treated. Provide them with useful information, show you care by calling on them, and remember them on special business and personal occasions.

Newsletters provide an excellent way to communicate information about your company’s process innovations, new products, personnel changes, and up coming events. Your customers will look forward to receiving it for the concise thoughtful information each issue provides. Keep in mind these key elements when preparing your newsletter.

• Provide information important to the customer
• Help educate your customer or prospect on your product, service, or business offering
• Design the layout so it is engaging and easy to read
• Publish the newsletter on a single page
• Make sure all of your key customer contacts receive the newsletter
• Be committed to your newsletter and send it regularly

Gifts are an important part of any relationship. In business gifts are tokens of appreciation which sends a message of gratitude to your customers. Ad Specialty gift, those gifts with your company name, tag line, and phone number or email address, are always well received. When selecting a gift it needs to be something which most likely stays at your customer’s place of business. After all it provides a reminder of your company and contact information. The gift does not have to be expensive but it should have some connection to your business which makes it even more memorable.

What could be easier than sending personal emails to your customers? Emails are always appreciated if they are genuine and personal. Share what is happening in your life with your customers. Include them in your humorous life events; let them know about your hobbies, family, and time away from work. This helps bring a human side to the business relationship.

This important effort of staying close to your customers needs to be managed.
A customer management tool provides a great benefit in tracking and organizing your efforts to stay in touch with your customers. Just think of all the customer related elements which can be brought together in an organized manner:

Correspondence, emails, memos
Appointments
Birthdays, anniversaries
Customer data
Proposals, documents, pictures
Order processing
Return call reminders
Project tracking dates

When you place a priority on developing and maintaining customer relationships everyone comes out a winner. Your customer feels more connected and committed to your company. You end up with stronger ties to your customers, which are now less susceptible to competitors marketing and sales efforts.

I have developed a number of tips, tools, techniques, and resources to help improve the sales and marketing efforts of business. Please contact me for a no obligation review of your company’s sales and marketing process.

Mark Marlin received a Master of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has held a variety of increasingly responsible positions as account manager, regional sales manager, divisional sales manager and owner of a manufacturers’ representative sales organization.
Mark’s sales and marketing consulting business helps small to medium sized organizations improve sales performance and drive business to the next level.