I just love referrals
If you've been in business for any amount of time, then you already know how great it is to have repeat customers. But even greater than a repeat customer is a new customer that was referred by a satisfied current customer. And if you are not experiencing this in your business, something is wrong.
"But the economy is so bad right now, I'm scaling back my advertising and promotional campaigns." Unfortunately, this is what I hear from the majority of small businesses when I interview them or make a premise visit. I try to explain to them just how important than ever it is to follow up your existing customer base with promotional material. You are now fishing in pond where the majority of the fishermen don't want to fish in. They don't want to spend money on the bait.
Why NOW is the BEST time to Increase Marketing
Now is the best time to strengthen your relationship with your prospects and customers alike. That's because your competitors have probably taken up the position that it is a bad time to spend on marketing. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but this is the wrong attitude towards increasing sales. As a matter of fact, McGraw-Hill Research found that companies that had maintained (or increased) their marketing throughout the 1981-82 recession saw an average sales growth of 275% over the next five years. But those companies who cut their marketing saw paltry sales growth over the same five years of just 19%.
You may have heard this saying, "The fortune is in the follow up". That is truer today than at any other time, especially given the current economic climate. You will see when the economic cycle turns, the smart and brave businesses who marketed despite the downturn will be the businesses who will prosper in the up cycle. You can take that to the bank! There's a pun in here somewhere?
Do You have a Follow Up Marketing Plan?
If you have considered implementing a follow up marketing plan but just don't have the time or you don't know where to start, I have good news. First, you can implement a follow up marketing plan with a little discipline and desire. Second, there are various tools to simplify and automate your follow ups, such as automated follow up systems. A good automated system should build your relationship with your customers and prospects without much hands on from you. Set it up and forget about it.
Statistic show that 80% of sales occur between the fifth and twelfth contact with the prospect and/or customer. What does that mean? It simply means that you should maintain a consistent marketing campaign until your prospects and customers are ready to buy. By the fifth contact you have already established some level of rapport with your customer and prospect base. They like you, know you and now they are beginning to trust you. And you are staying "top of mind" and showing them that you care.
How can you show that you care?
How do you show them you care you may ask? Well, you do it by educating them. You let them know that you appreciate their business and especially the referrals they send you. You also show them you care and appreciate them by your actions. What do I mean by that? Let me elaborate. Take for instance a married couple. The husband may tell his lovely wife that he loves her everyday, which is great. But, if he surprises his wife once in a while with some flowers, a romantic dinner date, a Broadway show, well you can see how the husband's actions "show" he does indeed care about her, appreciate her and love her.
Do this with your customers and prospects and you will have the upper hand in business. It's human nature. Send them a steady stream of letters, postcards and greeting cards for such occasions as their birthday, their children's birthdays, for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, and any other holiday you can think of to make a contact with your customer base. And don't worry, they won't think you're nuts. Joe Girard did this for decades with record breaking success. You don't have to break any records, you just have to keep your customers coming back (client retention) and have them recommend you (client referrals).
Now go and send them a nice card telling them you value their loyalty and business.
And now I want to get you started with "6 Ways to Get More Referrals Report". You can get started by claiming your $1.00 Instant Access to my special report when you visit [http://www.FollowUpBestPractices.com/offer]
From Paul Camarinha - The Follow Up Best Practices Guy.
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