Customer follow-up can be crucial at several points in your sales process.
1. If your customer is at the decision stage of the purchasing process.
Your customer might not have purchased your product when you first showed it to them. It could be because they were trying to save money, or they wanted to have a conversation with their spouse. Perhaps they were on vacation and forgot all about you. Your customer might not purchase from you the first time they see your product. It is your duty to the customer to remind them that you’re still available to help.
2. It is essential to follow up with your customer after they have purchased a product.
You might want to eventually show them additional features they may not have noticed or forgotten about. Two reasons are needed to gauge their satisfaction with your product. You should make sure that they are satisfied with your product. They should be offered a full refund or a different product. You want to make sure that your customer’s last interaction with you is positive.
You can ask your customer to refer you to others if they are satisfied with your product. Also, you should ask for testimonials from happy customers. You can add testimonials to your marketing materials.
3. If a customer has previously purchased from you and was satisfied with their experience, they will likely purchase again from you if you offer additional products or services to match their needs.
You have the responsibility to keep following up with your customer and offering relevant suggestions for products.
A customer follow-up system is essential.
Are you able to create a plan for customer follow-up? This section will help you organize your customer follow-up plan. Are you overwhelmed by business cards that you have to look through each time you need a number for your small business? Maybe you use an online calendar or a daytimer. Maybe you use a contact manager. These are great tools, but they don’t provide enough follow-up.
If your customer follow up system is made up of boxes of business cards and names written on paper pads, I have a plan that will work for you.
How to set up a customer follow-up system
To reach your customers regularly, you will need to use several tools. Your follow-ups should be timed and professional. Your prospect should not feel annoyed or turned off by too many calls. Do not try to convince them to buy something else. It is also not a good idea to forget your customer.
Your customer follow-up should be to assist your customer in solving a problem. Your customer will move on to your competitor if you don’t respond to their needs.
There are many tools that you should have in your customer follow-up system.
The telephone
People forget about their phones in today’s high-tech and online world. It’s still an excellent way for customers to touch you. This is especially useful after a sale to find out how things are going and if your customers are satisfied with your product. Phone conversations are a personal way to connect with customers.
Autoresponder for email
A drip email system with an autoresponder allows you to automate email contact with your customer. This will allow you to continue to feed their information and keep your name front and center. This is an inexpensive way to stay in touch with your contacts. You can set up your email drip system and forget about it.
Newsletter
Your customer will appreciate the value of a newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter to give your customers permission to contact them with valuable information.
Postcard or letter
Guess what? People still love getting mail with their names on it. People love to receive personal letters or cards. Are you able to recall the last time you got a personal letter or card in the mail? It is thrilling to open an envelope and see what it contains. Sending a personal letter or greeting card can make you stand out in the online world.
You can be sure that your competitors won’t do this. This is a great way to distinguish your business from thousands of other businesses. It is time-consuming to send a letter or personal card to customers, but it is an effective way of following up with them.
How likely is it that you will actually go to the store and buy the cards? It’s unlikely, is it? It’s not likely, right? After all, our lives are busy with our families and businesses. You can send a card to say thank you, to keep in touch with contacts, or to wish your customer a happy birthday.
Joe Girard is the Guinness Book of World Records’ World’s Greatest Car Salesperson. He used greeting cards to keep in touch with his customers. Each month, he sent a greeting card to each customer. He was able to encourage repeat business. Joe was always there for them when they needed another car.
Tom Hopkins was another successful salesperson whose secret was greeting card sales. Tom Hopkins was the World’s Greatest Realtor. He had been selling houses every day for 365 days when he retired. These two examples show how powerful a personal touch on a greeting card can make a difference.
Both these two men were successful because they believed in the power of greeting cards and the effectiveness of customer follow-up systems. They sent handwritten cards, which they addressed, stamped, and signed to send back in their day. Every day, they dropped stacks upon stacks of cards. This process is now automated, which is a great thing.
Set up a tickler folder
You need to organize your prospects in order to be able to follow up with them. A hanging file system should be set up that can be divided into sections for customers, prospects, and consultations. Your system should reflect where you are in your sales funnel.
Prospects
Telefonische Anrufe
Email
Newsletter
Card/Letter
Consultation
Walkthrough the product
Follow-up call
Thank you card
Newsletter
Telefonische Anrufe
Customers
Thank you card
Telefonische Anrufe
Consultation
Referral
Email ListNewsletter
Add your contacts to the system
You will need to add your contacts to your contact manager. Then, you’ll want to follow the steps below to make them work through your system. You can use a regular file folder to store your business card. You can also create a label if you don’t have a business card. The folder can be used to make notes or store any other paperwork related to the customer, such as sales receipts or records.
The sales funnel, and the contact’s folder is moved through the filing system in precisely the same order. You would move the contact’s folder into the follow-up section if you have completed a product walkthrough. They will remain there until you follow up.
You move them from one event to the next. They go directly into the thank-you card file when they become customers. This filing system should be kept in your office. Schedule time each day to review it. This will allow you to stay focused on the tasks that each customer requires each day.
