You probably already know the importance of following up with your customers. But did you know that you can follow up more swiftly and effectively using Infusionsoft marketing automation software?
Here’s how it works.
First, you should know that everyone likes to get follow up contacts. They might not act like it, but they do. So don’t be put off by how your contact will be perceived. Just go ahead and do it. It’s a good way to build your brand as well as an excellent way to groom returning customers.
At Stern we recommend that you reach out to your customers for a period of six months after closing a sale. You can use Infusionsoft to automate “soft touch” techniques such as emailed thank yous and reminders, or get a bit more personal and place a phone call or (in cases of larger accounts) invite someone to meet in person.
Why do we recommend following up for six months? Because dozens of studies and anecdotes (not to mention our own experience) indicate the same thing: if you contact a person 10 times over a three month interval, you increase your chances of closing a sale to approximately 90 percent.
(At Stern, we’ve learned not to argue with numbers, especially when they’re on our side!)
So what do we recommend that you do specifically?
FIRST POST-SALES CONTACT
Email the customer. Thank them for their purchase. As simple, perhaps even trivial as this sounds, it’s a highly effective technique for engendering lasting customer loyalty.
We can’t stress this enough: THANK YOUS ARE VERY IMPORTANT! They become doubly so if your thank you email contains a mysterious subject line. Something like, “Hey, we forgot something!” or “Hope you were please, and just one more thing…”
But don’t stop at the subject line. Make sure that your email has something personal and memorable in it.
For instance, why not craft a 30 second video of you whooping it up on a diving board at a pool. “I love having great customers!” you could shout. “You make me want to CAAANNNOOOONBAAAALLLLL!” (At this point, of course, you jump into the pool.)
It might sound cheesy. It might BE cheesy. But techniques like this are much more likely to keep you in your customer’s thoughts. Which in turn make you their likely choice the next time they need to make a purchase your company can facilitate.
SECOND POST-SALES CONTACT
Send your customers a How To Guide, a white paper, or an informative ebook. In other words, give them something valuable for free.
It doesn’t really matter what you send them so long as it a) has worth, b) can positively impact their life or business, and c) comes to them with asking and entirely without strings attached.
This shows them that you’re value the relationship you’ve created and want to help them succeed in whatever they’re interested in.
THIRD POST SALES CONTACT
Direct your customer to resources relevant to their purchase.
At this point, you’re building the relationships to the point where you’re no longer seen as a vendor but an ally in your customer’s success and comfort. This is exactly the kind of relationship that creates repeat sales!
So don’t sit around waiting for them to call you back or extend the relationship on their own time. Show them that you’re always keeping them in mind. Let them see that you’re out for their best interests as well as your own.
SUMMARY
Follow these steps and you’re much more likely to get what you’ve always wanted for your business: a loyal, satisfied, repeat customer base that keeps your firm in the black while willingly, even cheerfully recommending your business to other prospective customers.
And yes, these steps can all be automated using Infusionsoft automated marketing software.
I would love to help you launch a new Inbound Marketing, Content Marketing, and Social Media Marketing strategy that will deliver qualified leads for your B2B or B2C business.
It all starts with a Stern Storming Session.
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