Every good business person knows that relationships need to be nurtured. That is why it is important to conduct follow up communications with your business contacts. Even if you operate primarily on the Internet, you can still make great use of the same combination of follow up techniques used by the brick and mortar guys – email, chat, and phone.
Of the three, the telephone call is one of the most time honored forms of follow up. Companies use this method to make sure new customers are happy with their purchase, and also see it as a chance to identify other customer needs that the provider can meet. At the same time, the action helps to build rapport between vendor and customer and help to increase the chances for a second sale.
In like manner, email has become a great way to accomplish these same goals. In some instances, customers prefer this approach, as it makes it possible for the client to respond at leisure, instead of feeling compelled to take the call at an inopportune time.
The end result can be that the customer takes more time with the email, as there is no sense of being rushed. Even brick and mortar businesses have found that customers who consider follow up telephone calls to be intrusive are often very open to a follow up email.
Online chats have gained in popularity as a follow up tool in recent years. This is partly because just about all types of businesses rely heavier on computers and Internet tools than even ten years ago.
If a client has provided a screen name for chat, then that is an open invitation to follow up in that manner. Because it is possible to send an offline chat with many systems, you do not have to wait until you see the customer appear online in your contact list.
Simply send the message and your client will see it the next time he or she logs in. Like email, it allows the client to respond when they have the time.
One important rule of thumb with all forms of follow ups that you should keep in mind is to never make use of the methods too often. Most customers have a limit on how often they are receptive to a contact.
Know your clients well and stay within their comfort level. If Customer A appreciates weekly contacts, then do so. But is Customer B finds that more than one a month is too much, honor that. In the long run, your working relationship with each client will be much healthier.
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