Unless your franchise is the only business in town providing unique products and services, the buying public will have a number of choices when shopping around for their daily needs and wants. Don’t think that just because you gave your last customer the deal of the century or the best service that money could buy means you’ll get their business again. Sure, you will have a leg up on getting repeat business if your level of service is superior, but don’t just rely on that.
Keep Your Customers in Check
The only proven way to keep your cash flow from going dry is to create a follow-up system. Depending on the business, there are a number of techniques you can use to accomplish this goal, some more time-consuming than others. Nevertheless, be consistent; find the time each day, week, or month to dedicate to customer follow-up and maintenance.
Think the Way Your Customer Base Thinks
For those in the retail business who see hundreds of customers each week, mostly on a transactional level, following-up can be a challenging task. But, with the power of email, you will never be too far from reaching out to those people who keep your business in operation.
You have to remember that you, too, are a consumer so think about all the places of business you’ve visited last week and recall what efforts were made to keep you on a contact list. Unless you subscribe yourself to an email newsletter, chances are the average business is either too busy to create a follow-up system or they’ve never thought of creating one in the first place.
The same goes with people in general. When they visit your business and hesitate to buy, it could be because they need time to warm-up to you and what you have to offer. Many first-time business visitors don’t buy anything and if you don’t have a follow-up plan in place, you may never see them again.
The Key is to Re-Connect After the Connection is Lost
This two-step process requires you to take action when you first meet your customer and to take action again later on to get them back in the door. Decided on a follow-up device to get your customer (whether a purchase is made or not) to leave a name and phone number (or email address) at minimum before leaving the premises.
As you build your customer base – some of whom are frequent buyers, other casual buyers, and the rest being non-buying browsers – you need a re-connection device to get them to reconsider buying your product or service.
This of course only applies to customers who have either not developed a buying pattern at your place of business or have not bought from you in a while. Using whatever approach you think is best (email, telephone, direct marketing promo) present your B-list and C-list customers with a unique offer to reconsider visiting your business. In other words, you’ve got to give up something to get something in return.
Be Persistent and Don’t be Discouraged by Slow Progress
This initiative can prove very successful for you if the effort is made, but it may take some time to get the streams of people through the door. Non-buying customers need to be won over so if you don’t have excellent customer service to offer in the first place, you have a next-to-zero chance of getting them back with your follow-up system.
On the other hand, if you strive for customer satisfaction, wouldn’t you feel appreciated if you received a token of appreciation from a business who cared to remember your last visit? Why not be a bit old-fashioned and call a dated customer personally? Ask him or her to drop in to sample one of your latest products or offer a discount if they show up within the next 24 hours. Sometimes, the easiest and most genuine approach works best.
If you follow-up with your customers the same way you do with distant family and friends, you could be setting yourself up for many surprise visits when you least expect them. Your customers are waiting to hear from you – don’t disappoint them.
