Follow Up To Build Customer Loyalty
 By Alex R. Merriman

You might be worrying that competitors are stealing your customers or that an increase in your prices is driving customers away. What you should be worrying about is the indifference customers and prospects feel when coming face-to-face with many businesses.

How many repeat customers do you greet by name? How many have you sincerely thanked for their continued support of your business?

Those are the kinds of actions that build relationships and promote customer loyalty.

Building customer loyalty starts with prospects even before a sale has been made. Prospects, like customers, want acknowledgment and recognition. They want your attention and genuine gestures of appreciation.

There’s no better time to give prospects and customers those things than immediately after you have contact with them. A simple follow-up by phone call or a card after the sale, or even after a prospect turns you down, can pave the way to future business.

Here are five times you can follow-up and build customer loyalty for years to come.

1. After the sale
Send a postcard or a note card that simply says: “Thank you. It is a privilege to serve you and have you as a customer. I hope you’ll return again.”

Don’t send a generic card. Personalize it by using the customer’s name, handwriting the card and signing it yourself.

2. When you lose contact with a customer
If a regular customer suddenly doesn’t return any longer, send a “We miss you!” card. A few sentences that say you recognize a customer’s absence can go a long way to enticing the customer back.

Or maybe a client who has purchased your services on regular basis suddenly stops buying. Pick up the phone. Explain that you’re simply making a courtesy call since you haven’t heard from the client recently. Ask if everything was satisfactory with the last purchase or ask if there are other services the customer needs.

3. After a cold call
No matter what the result of a cold call – sale or no sale – follow up.

Send a note that thanks the prospect for taking time out of her busy schedule to talk to you. Invite her to call you if any questions come to mind later or if she decides she wants to know more about your products or services.

Your thank-you note shouldn’t take a sales tone. Instead, use a sincerely grateful tone.

You’ll be surprised how much this simple gesture will be remembered. Most business owners don’t follow up after cold calls unless the outcome is a big sale.

But even if your prospect isn’t interested right now, she might be in six months. And when you call again, that thank-you note she remembers could get your foot in the door.

4. When you return from a networking event
Networking events tend to result in two types of prospects – people you have a conversation with and connect with, and those you meet only briefly.

For the folks you meet only briefly, send a simple card that says you enjoyed meeting them and hope to see them again at the next event.

But, for those you connected with, pick up the phone. Thank them for the time they took to explain their businesses to you. Ask them to send you more information about their businesses. And tell them you hope you can work together in the future to the benefit of both of your businesses.

5. After a customer complains
This follow-up is especially crucial because it can not only help build customer loyalty, but can also help prevent the loss of customers.

Customers might complain about any kind of issue: your store’s littered parking lot, an incorrect invoice, lousy service. After you’ve talked to the customer and resolved his complaint, don’t let the conversation drop.

Send a personal postcard or note to thank the customer for bringing the issue to your attention. Apologize again for the infraction. Tell the customer that his complaint helped you see ways to improve your business so it can serve him better in the future. Tell him that his business is important to you and that you hope he’ll return.

(Posted February 2008)

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