To me, one of the most appealing aspects of the marketing world is gaining the trust, loyalty and confidence of customers. Over the years, I have seen companies spend substantial dollars to gain the attention of NEW customers offering them untold incentives and various inducements to win and sign them on as new customers. Nothing particularly wrong with this, RIGHT?
After working with some of these same companies for a year or two, I start noticing previous customers pop up in their lead generation efforts. WHAT HAPPENED??
The story is almost always the same. They did not get the service, attention or follow-up they required, so they took their business elsewhere. In any relationship, once trust has been lost, it is very difficult, bordering on impossible to get it back.
So many companies spend the greater part of their marketing efforts and dollars chasing down and catering to possible new business that they don’t realize that they are hemorrhaging existing customers at a greater rate than they are signing on new ones.
Vicious cycle? Absolutely! The solution is SOOO… simple and very often missed. THANK your customers at least once quarterly with a note and a tasty treat. It gives you an opportunity to speak with them, connect with new people at their company, find out if everything is okay, and if not, work with them to correct it. And if all is well, and another company is courting them with similar services, these touch points are a great deterrent to them entertaining your competitors.
THANK YOU! MERCI! ¡GRACIAS! In whatever language you communicate with your customers, it is a simple means to convey your appreciation and tell them that you care about their business. Give it a try!
ABOUT IDEA FACTOR
Idea Factor provides a full suite of marketing services including B2B lead generation (gathering qualified sales leads), surveys, data mapping, event tele-boosting, trade show follow up, in-bound and out-bound omnichannel contact center services, data cleansing, list cleaning, customer retention and loyalty programs.
Our commitment to excellence in customer service has awarded us repeat business for more than 25 years, from both our global and community clients. To find out more go to http://www.idea-factor.com or look at our Services here.
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