Many entrepreneurs think that the job of marketing is completed once the client hires them. I believe they're wrong. Our job as a marketer is to review the life-time value of a client. Notice I didn’t say year-time value, I said life-time value. If we view a client to be a valuable asset, one that will feed us for a lifetime, then we’ll start to look at different ways to stay in constant contact with them–consistently bringing them value.
By know you must have heard some version of the statement “the most expensive client is a new client’. So, why is it that much of marketing stops at the point of hire? For the most part, entrepreneurs I work with understand they have to make the phone ring. Some of them ‘get it’ that converting those phone rings into clients is where the initial money is made. But, few understand the idea of a continued value-added approach to continuing to offer both education and thanks to the existing client.
So, how exactly can we say thank you to a client. I believe the opportunity lies in the point of contact. From the very first phone call we should be setting ourselves up for success. What does that mean? Beginning that referral culture is as simple as creating a script for your staff when prospects call in. When you ask the client who referred you, and let them know that we take special care of clients who send us their friends and relatives. This is how you let them know that you intend to thank them. If, when harvesting information about the client, be it on the phone or at the initial consultation, you gather their birth date information so you can then be sure to send them a birthday card, every year for the rest of their life.
Once the client hires, many entrepreneurs only use reaction based communication. The client calls, you answer. What if we turn that around? What if we start to be proactive about our communication and actually talk to the client in advance of any issues and consistently take their temperature? In essence, we are letting them know we are generally interested in doing a good job. In our office, we call this the RYG system. Known as the Red, Yellow, Green system. Green means all is good. Yellow means the client isn’t very happy but we can fix it. Red means, the boss must get on the phone immediately with that client.
Further, I teach members of my private client group to not expect that their clients will fully understand the process they are about to go through. So, let’s outline the process and put it into picture form. Then, we can send it to the client in as many media choices that makes sense such as e-mail, video, direct mail, text messaging and phone calls. Again, this is a proactive action that helps you to overcome objections before they occur, and it ultimately thanks the client by saying, ‘we care enough to ensure you know what’s going on with your process’.
Take some time and ask yourself how you can script a thank you campaign in your office to your clients. If you do this right, over time, you’ll watch your referral rate go through the roof.
Automated Business Results is now offering staff training. We can help you and your staff build this referral culture. Call us today to learn more at 602 490-0853.
Building a better business, one thank you at a time…
