Hold On to Your Customers with Good Communication

The thumb rule of good marketing is that it’s better to hold on to a customer than to acquire a new one: In order to do this you have to stay in touch with them via frequent, high quality correspondence. This communication may take many forms. In this article we’ll take a look at some of the most important means to stay attached to customers and ensure that they don’t forget you and your services and products. Create a plan to get hold of email addresses, without which you can’t start your communications campaign. Once that’s done you have to think about relevant information for the persons you intend to contact. You will need to ponder about info that will above all interest your recipients, as well as be easy on the eye. Sending gifts and greeting cards will leave a good impression on your customers. You can use these cards A) During the holidays; B) For new clients and C) When a customer gives you a referral. You can add a gift as a sign of your appreciation of them. Your gift must have some practical value. Communicate regularly to make your campaign a success and manage your email plan. Surveys show that only 10% of emails are opened regularly so you have to ascertain the people who are reading your emails frequently and target them particularly. Update them on what’s new in your business. Use email marketing judiciously. Don’t go to the extremes – too many or too little. Maybe once-a-month would be ideal, though this depends on the nature of your business, your products and services. If there are special offerings in your correspondence then you will naturally get higher opening rates. Don’t forget to manage your email campaign well to reduce likely spam complaints, increase credibility and get a better perception of how your customer views your business. Give discounts and coupons to attract traffic to your website/store. Discounts can be of various types, it depends on the kind of business you are running. You can also have special offers/programs that link your customers with referrals. There are many ways to communicate with your customers in this manner and the final choice lies in your hands. The idea is to be as creative as possible so that you get your customers excited and therefore more engaged. Periodic surveys, like asking customers what you can do to improve things, will nip small problems in the bud and stop them from turning into big, uncontrollable ones. Get customer feedback on this regularly via simple feedback forms. Sincerely appreciate your customer’s actions. Like when he gives you a referral or purchases from you, or simply goes out of his way to do something that is helpful to you. People in all spheres of life always want appreciation for something good that they have done – and it’s no different here. If you create an online community like a forum on your website and ask customers to take part, it will boost your communications plan. Your best/oldest customers can then mentor the new ones so the best things about your product/services come out. The social media has become an essential place for marketing. This trend will last for a long time and you can’t afford to leave it out of your internet marketing communication strategy. Blogs are also a good way to remain in touch with your customers. Use event marketing to call customers to a party or workshop. You can use evite.com or eventbrite.com to do this. The last mentioned services will enable you to do the ticketing, name tag lists and produce instant email reminder messages to guests who are invited, and listed attendees.