Finding Fortune In The Follow Up

Your small business is getting larger and you are faced with that challenge of ‘not enough hours in a day’. There is too much to be done in too little time and the tools that you are using are just not cutting it. Sounds realistic, right?

Does it happen sometimes that in your pursuit to become big and large, you focus on refining a particular part of your business? And in that process of working on this single part of your business, your overall business gets neglected – although unintentionally.

How about focusing on one task at a time? And then, executing a killer follow up strategy?

The big question: is:

Who should you follow up with?

Well, you should follow up with old customers, existing customers and new customers!  The definition of old customers would be people who have not purchased from you for a while now.

Here are some strategies that can help you set up an efficient follow up campaign:

Clarify:

The first step in an effective follow up campaign is clarifying how and when you would follow up and then making sure you ARE following up at the clarified time. You should be really specific here. Vague statements such as, ‘Let me get back to you’, should not be used. You should be providing the date and the time for making the contact. Clarifying the method that you would deploy to approach your customer is equally important: would you make a call or would it be a face to face visit? So your statement now changes from ‘Let me get back to you’ to ‘Let me get back to you next Monday at 10am’. And when you make this commitment, do all that it takes to stick to it.

Simplify:

Another important step in an effective follow up strategy is simplification. Imagine yourself as a customer who has made a purchase through your website and is now having a hard time trying to figure out where to get the goods from! Would it not be a frustrating experience?

Simplify your strategy through effective follow up. How about sending a personalized e mail with step by step instructions to access the product to anybody who makes a purchase? Your customers love you when you make this part exceedingly easy for them. The result: an increase in customer satisfaction and a decrease in refund requests!

Organization matters:

One of the main reasons you are failing in your follow up strategy could be ineffective organization skills. Your work practices and diary should be so well organized that it helps you in remembering to follow up with your customers and allows you the time to do so. How about committing to a specific time each day for follow up? No follow ups today? Well, how about calling those old customers who have not come back to you for a while now?

Customer support speaks for itself:

That is correct; your customer support strategy speaks for itself! When you provide ongoing customer support through an impactful follow up strategy, your customers turn into partners. Encouraging two way conversation works best here. How about designing a mechanism where your customers just send in their queries and you or a member of your team promptly responds? A simple check in e mail or call is also not a bad idea!

Assumptions are bad:

Sometimes a customer makes a purchase; you trust your processes and assume that he has received the goods. This is a bad idea and may lead you to dissatisfied customers at times. How about checking in with the customers through a quick after sales call? When you check in with your customers after they have purchased from you, they feel that instant connect – a connect that leads them to believe that you want to ensure their happiness, you care about them, you want to see them happy and for you and your business, customer always comes first! This connect can help you retain your existing and win a few more customers.

Inspire your customers:

Your follow up strategy should be focused on inspiring action. Sharing success stories, case studies and testimonials of happy clients helps you increase the perceived value of your product and increase your retention rates.

Think about additional value:

Well, your customers have purchased a product or a service from you. Wouldn’t it be a great idea to offer some value added additional services as well? How about helping your clients with the whole package of things that they would need post this purchase? That way your clients don’t have to try different service providers. A key thing here is thinking about your client’s end goal and not your sale. Tweaking your strategy based on your client’s end goal can do the trick. It will also help you establish yourself as a premium service provider.

Focus on relationship building:

Your follow up campaign is your key relationship building tool. Utilize it efficiently. Allow your customers to become a part of your tribe by sharing their personal experiences with your prospective customers.  You can definitely ask them for this favor if you are diligent about the above mentioned steps.

If you have the right kind of software, every single step in this process can be automated. A little thought and planning can lead you to your personalized follow up strategy that can enable you to make that shift from a single sale to an ongoing relationship. This is what empowers you to discover your fortune through follow up! For help with automating sales follow up funnels do get in touch!

Are you ready to find the fortune in the follow up?