Posted

Great question. But what you're really asking is, “Why don't they do what I want them to?”Because you really wish they would:

  • Stay in touch
  • Come back to you and do more business
  • Refer you to their friends, associates, and other business contacts
  • Pay on time
  • Get back to you in a timely manner
  • Let you know when you do something wrong
  • Let you know when you do something right
  • Clearly and honestly tell you when they do want to do something
  • Clearly and honestly tell you when they don't (as opposed to “we'll think about it”)
  • Insert other desired action here: ________________________

Let's address this problem at the root. Please don't get upset. I'm about to tell you something that may be a bit hurtful.

It's you

Your clients don't stay in touch because you don't. They don't come back to you because you give them poor service. They don't refer you because you're not referring or even servicing them properly. They don't pay on time because you didn't set the proper expectations or because you didn't deliver on time. They drag their feet because you did. You don't let them know when they do something wrong, and you sure don't praise them when they do something right. You're probably not very clear or honest when you want them to do something or when you don't want them to something.

We are all human and we all need to start by taking ownership of our own failures. Your customer is not perfect and buddy, neither are you!

Now, we can't fix you overnight. In fact, it's not our job to fix you – it's yours. In the meantime, what we can do is to put a Band-Aid on your situation and get you back in good enough shape to keep going.

More than anything, these above problems stem from closed lines of communication. To put it tersely, you don't talk to your clients nearly often enough.

If you want them to do something or to think of you, you need to first remind them that you are there.

But…

YOU ARE GOING TO FORGET

Not to mention, you've got a million other things you have to do. So, the best way to keep this thing going is to put it, as much as possible, on automatic pilot.

How, you say?

EMAIL MARKETING

Probably the cheapest, most cost-effective marketing effort you can do for your company is to set up a simple e-newsletter for your customers. By doing so, you remind them you are here and you will stay top of mind the next time they need your services. In fact, they may even use you more often because they conveniently have your contact info available when they are thinking about the need for your services (or was it that your email prompted them to think about their needs?).

Unfortunately, these things do not put themselves together. You have to write them (or pay someone to do it for you). You can hire another person, squeeze it into an unqualified person's job description, or – you could pay a professional to do it for only the time it takes. Such a person might even tell you when you should send it, or how to best capture your customer's emails, or even answer, “how do I use this for prospective customers?”.

But doing all those things, increasing the likelihood that your customers will do what you want them to do, raising the amount of business and dollars you bring in from your customers probably isn't enough to get you interested and encourage you to take action, is it?

Oh well, if it was more important to you, and I get the feeling it's not – but if it was, you could call me.

My name is J.R. Hertwig, and my direct number is 865-384-7049.

We could have an open discussion about what you would hope to achieve, what problems you've been having, and even answer questions regarding cost and timing. But maybe I'm just being a little too direct and open… What do you think?

TradeMark Advertising

865-966-1690

TradeMark Advertising is based in Knoxville, Tennessee and is a full-service marketing, advertising and web design/online marketing firm. We've served both national and local clients within Tennessee and surrounding states since 1996. While we have strong roots in traditional media such as radio, television, billboards, video and direct mail, we've also kept with the times and now specialize in web and online marketing.