Do you have a marketing strategy that generates leads for you? More than likely, the answer is “yes” because there is so much emphasis on having one, and quite rightly so.
Do you also have a sales strategy so that once you have generated leads, you can convert them into clients? You probably answered “yes” to this question as well.
Both of these strategies are very important for obtaining new clients. But what about your existing clients? What strategy do you have for looking after them to make sure they stay your clients, become more loyal, and provide you referrals? Do you have such a strategy?
Right now, you may be saying to yourself that since you do such a fine job and have a great product/service, your clients will certainly stay and remain loyal. Although doing a fine job and having a great offering is important, it is unfortunately not enough to keep your clients.
Several studies have shown that 68% of the time when a client leaves, it is because of how they were treated and how they were made to feel. Only 14% leave because they were dissatisfied with the product or the service. Shocking, isn’t it? Just because you do a fine job does not assure that your client will stay with you and remain loyal.
To ensure client loyalty, you need to consistently make them feel good. You need to show that you care about them and you appreciate them. You must implement a personal relationship strategy – this is the critical missing strategy. Most do not have such a strategy and assume it will somehow take care of itself.
You can’t afford not to define and implement a relationship strategy. If you care for your clients with a well planned personal relationship strategy, they will also care for you by giving you additional business and referrals. So what are the elements of a personal relationship strategy?
The basic components are not very complicated, and are inexpensive and personal things like:
- Phone calls just to say “hello” to let them know you’re thinking of them.
- Sending real cards to say “thank you” and celebrate occasions like birthdays and holidays.
- Small “fun” gifts from time to time (but always within the bounds of client rules).
- Looking for and sending them information on their business or personal interests.
For your personal relationship strategy to work, you need to plan and do all these things with no specific agenda and no expectation of anything in return. If you do, what you give out in terms of personally caring about those clients will come back as more business and more referrals. If you have an obvious or hidden agenda or expectations, expect it to backfire as the client will detect and resent your insincerity.
What I recommend is that you do these three things as soon as possible:
- Decide on a sequence of events for key clients for the next 12 months. You will want a mixture of caring actions and you should schedule at least one each month.
- Look for a system to automate the things that can be automated (e.g. sending of personalized cards/gifts). If you don’t have an automated system, you’ll forget and it will become “I didn’t have time” and “it was too hard”.
- Initiate your strategy progressively, first with your most important clients.
Once you have implemented your personal relationship strategy with key clients, then extend it. Come up with a similar set of activities for all clients, the prospects you are working on, and those others in waiting. They are the ones who don’t need or don’t want your solution now, but probably will at some time in the future.
If you methodically and consistently do this, it will have a huge impact on your new sales, and you will find your pipeline is filling up with people who are keen to buy from you when they can. Don’t miss using a personal relationship strategy if you want more sales and referrals!