Stay in Contact With Your Clients

Once you have completed a sale or finished a project, regular contact with your client may come to end. However, from a business perspective, it is important to maintain contact with them because it is easier to obtain repeat business and referrals than it is to attract new clients. On the personal side, you may have established a relationship which you would like to maintain because you enjoyed working with the client. A range of techniques for staying in contact with clients is presented in this article. Select the techniques which will be most relevant and helpful to you and your clients––you will also likely develop new approaches unique to you as you work to maintain these relationships.

Steps

Staying On Your Clients' Minds

  1. Send relevant information on a regular basis. As you read professional literature, newspapers, magazines, trade publications, and internet articles, be thinking about your clients. When you find an article which would be helpful to them, take the time to send them a link or a copy along with a short note explaining how you feel it will be of help or interest to them.[1]
  2. Develop a regular newsletter for your clients. Write a newsletter that details events, new products, and other information that the clients may find useful. At the time of signing up a client, ask for permission to send company information to their email address. That way, you have authorization to send your regular newsletter to your clients periodically.[2]
  3. Reach out to clients regularly. Make a plan to get in touch with each client every few months or another set period of time. Set alerts to reconnect with them on your calendar or through another method that works for you.
    • It may effective to reach out to clients are certain times, for example the beginning of each fiscal quarter. This way, clients will begin to expect your calls and will schedule time for you.[3]
    • You can also set reminders to help you remember special occasions in your clients' lives. Send a note or card on special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, children's birthdays, or graduations.
    • For special occasions, do something that is unique to the client. For example, a birthday card might include an airplane if the client recently earned their pilot's license.[4]
  4. Provide souvenirs. Give clients souvenirs which they are likely to keep with your contact information on them. Pens are popular items, but may get lost, plus they are common. You might consider calendar magnets, novelty items such as desk games, or helpful tips on a magnet (and/or wallet-size card). People will often display inexpensive trophies.[1]
  5. Provide framed certificates and/or photographs. If you are a workshop leader, party planner, etc., consider presenting your client with a framed photograph of the event or certificate, which they might display at the office. Be sure your contact information appears on the item.
    • When you give a certificate or photo to a client think about what you would like them to do with it. For example:
      • A framed certificate or photo is ready to be hung on the wall.
      • A photo or certificate in a nice folder is likely to be placed in a filing cabinet.[4]
  6. Send them a survey. Two to three weeks after completing your business with the client, send them a simple survey. This survey should be very brief, and simply ask customers about what they liked and if they have any suggestions for you. This shows clients that you care about improving your service or product.
    • This survey can be sent through the mail, but it is much easier to organize and send your survey online.[1]

Meeting Clients Face-to-Face

  1. Invite clients to events. If you are sponsoring or attending an event which you think your clients would be interested in, invite them to join you. Alternatively, send them a note saying "I hope to see you at this event", along with the event publicity materials.[5]
  2. Seek clients from the crowd. When attending a trade show, professional meeting, or other venue where your clients might also be visiting, actively look for the clients. Spend a few minutes to talk to them when you see them and to remind them that you remain interested in their wellbeing.
    • Make a list of people who might be attending the show before going and make a point to seek them out or visit their trade show table (if they have one).[6]
    • For example, ask about their children. How did the little league season work out?
  3. Offer to help. When you conclude your current sale or project, finish by inviting your client to call you whenever they have a question which you may be able to help them with. Make it clear that this is never an imposition and that you welcome such continued linkages.
    • To get a more face-to-face experience, you can offer to video chat with your clients using a service like Skype. This can be more personal than a phone call.[7]
  4. Ask for help. Whenever you have a question which might benefit from your client's expertise, call on them. Of course, be thoughtful about how often you do this and to what extent you expect their help, but this can be an effective way to stay in touch over time.[8]

Staying In Touch Using Social Media

  1. Connect with your clients on social networking sites. Become friends with your clients on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, and/or Twitter. Browse your feed on these websites regularly and look out for posts made by your clients. Also remember to update your own page regularly with information about your business efforts and links to relevant online articles.[2]
  2. Get alerts about your customers. Certain online services offer ways to track mentions of your clients on social media or news platforms. Using one of these services, like Google Alerts, Talkwalker, or Mention, can help you find opportunities to get back in touch with your clients. You can set these services up to track the client's name, company, industry, or anything else of interest to them.
    • Once you get an alert on a client, try reaching out to them with a "this made me think of you" or "I heard about ____. What do you think about it?"[9]
  3. Interact with your clients. When you see a posting of theirs which you like, comment on it or "like" it. This is especially important for blog posts or website article that your clients write. Many of these posts don't get any comments or "likes." This means that your interaction will stand out. Just make sure that you leave a thoughtful comment that shows that you actually read the piece.[9]
  4. Communicate through chat services. When you see your clients are online at the same time as you are, say hello now and then. Take advantage of the ease of Facebook messenger or Google Chat and check in on your clients.[7]
  5. Recommend and endorse your clients. LinkedIn allows you to recommend other members based on business interactions you've had in the past. Use this service to write a glowing recommendation of the client. If you're subtle about it, you may even be able to plug your own services in the process.
    • You may also see an opportunity to link previous clients together in a shared business interest. Recommend one client to the other, and make the introduction.[9]

Tips

  • The following questions might be helpful for you in starting a dialog with a client:
    • How's business?
    • How is the family?
    • Have you completed X project?
  • The key is to personalize each point of contact with your clients. Instead of a standardized message, try to write out something personal and conversational to them.
  • It may be helpful to keep notes on previous clients regarding any details of these personal lives that they shared with you. For example, if they said their daughter was starting school soon, you could ask how her school is going when you see the client. If pulled off properly, this can be very impressive and add a strong personal touch.
  • Use the same communication channels as your client does. This will help you be sure that you will reach them and that you will not by overdoing it.[8]

Warnings

  • Don't overdo contacting clients. Sending information which is not specific to your clients may be viewed as spam.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://realtormag.realtor.org/sales-and-marketing/feature/article/2011/03/relationship-management-7-ways-keep-touch-past-clients
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.creativeboom.com/tips/how-to-successfully-keep-in-touch-with-clients/
  3. ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/59670
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://i-meet.com/public/blog/Blog_Dr.%20Ronald%20G._Shapiro_1706.aspx
  5. ↑ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/59670
  6. ↑ http://yfsmagazine.com/2013/08/29/12-trade-show-networking-tips-for-entrepreneurs/2/
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.imcreator.com/blog/how-to-keep-in-touch-with-your-clients-and-boost-your-profits-by-25/
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://fundbox.com/blog/these-6-tips-will-change-how-you-stay-in-touch-with-your-clients/
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/7-simple-ways-to-stay-in-touch-with-your-customers.html
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