How many of you reading this has LOST a client – not down the back of the sofa kind of lost but the kind where you thought they were all yours but then you find out that they’ve started seeing someone else? I know we have. Not a great feeling is it? You wonder what you did wrong, how someone else managed to muscle in when the last time you spoke to them they were over the moon with whatever it is that you did for them and only too happy to settle that last bill.
The chances are that you haven’t really done anything wrong. Just park that ‘really’ word for a mo. The chances are that you did do a great job for them, that you offered a very good service or product which they liked and which made a difference to them and that they liked you and had all that mutual respect and trust stuff going on.
So what went wrong?
Let’s get back to the ‘really’ bit.
Because there must be a reason. And after a break up, don’t we all want a reason? Of course sometimes it could well be a case of ‘It’s not you, it’s me’. They may need to move on because their needs have changed. An expanding business may need a new kind of accountancy firm; a family with growing children no longer need to visit the local soft play. However in many cases when a customer goes elsewhere you could have prevented the break up.
We all like to feel valued and we all like a bit of attention. The trouble is, a lot of companies out there spend too much time and effort flirting with prospective clients (and let’s face it money too, it’s where the majority of marketing spend goes) and not enough on their current clients or customers. (And anyone who has been on the receiving end of a worse deal from their insurance company that one being loudly promoted as only for new customers will know just how easily it is to go off someone!)
You will not keep your clients and customers just because they liked what you did for them. You cannot afford to let them go off into the sunset with the hope that when they want some more, they will return. And in my opinion you shouldn’t keep them if you’re not prepared to nurture and work at the relationship. No-one likes being taken for granted, I’m sure you don’t.
In today’s environment which is increasingly competitive you need to make your clients as sticky to you as possible, which means that in those times between working for them or between them purchasing goods, products and services from you, you need to stay in touch, add value and become the person they always think of when they need what you have. They need to love you. You need to woo them, plain and simple. (And if you make it a policy of only working with the nice people like we do then this isn’t hard to do!)
We are focusing on this part of our own marketing and business development strategy ourselves at the moment and also with several of our clients. By using the right combination of tools and strategies we are helping our clients (and ourselves) to keep in touch with clients and customers, new and old, making what we offer irresistible so when they’re in the mood, it’s a date!
If you like to know how to do this by spending some time working on an action plan then why not sign up for some marketing support of your own? From just £95 for a face to face or telephone session, regular marketing success sessions will make a huge impact on your marketing success. Just email me today sarah@tent.uk.com and start feeling the love all over again.