Great job! You’ve picked up the lead, the customer’s hired you, your team did a great job, the client is happy, and everyone moves on to the next thing. You did everything right – so why isn’t your small business getting more repeat customers?
Follow-through is one of the most important and overlooked elements of a good business strategy. Check out these five tips for follow-up success:
1. Stay organized and on top of things
Whatever follow-up method you use, be certain to approach it with the same diligence and care you apply to the rest of your work. Sending follow-up emails may feel like repetitive boilerplate, but it’s a crucial part of staying in touch. Done properly, this kind of follow-through takes only a few minutes a day, but if you let it pile up, it will both take longer and get less useful results.
Also, keep track of every client’s preferred method of communication, and stick with it. Some appreciate email and some prefer social network messaging, while others best respond to text messages. And some people still prefer a good old-fashioned phone call! Knowing what matters to your customer is one way of demonstrating your dedication.
2. Use follow-up as an accountability tool
Send email follow-ups based on your in-person conversations with clients. Not only will this keep you and the homeowners on the same page as the project unfolds, it can also help to avoid issues or confusion. They’ll appreciate knowing that you were paying attention to detail.
3. Follow up on the follow-through
Not a typo! When you engage in a follow-through action, make sure you stay on top of it in the most appropriate manner. For example, if a customer leaves a positive review for you on a site that allows you to make responses, post a reply that mentions a detail or two about the project and shows your appreciation for their business. If a customer asks a question in response to an email from you, respond to it promptly. And if someone posts a publicly visible compliment about your work on social media, a polite thank-you in the comments is always appropriate.
4. Don’t overdo it
Customers appreciate follow-through, but they don’t want to be flooded with emails that make them feel like they’ve been added to a mailing list because they hired your business. Make every message personal and make it count.
5. Put a public face on your workers
Send appointment reminders that include professional-looking photos of your employees that will be on the job. Not only does this help give your company a polished, friendly face, it’s a peace-of-mind tool for homeowners to know who’s coming to their house.
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