Not NO, Just Not Right Now

Rome was not built in a day!

You cannot expect your phones to constantly ring and products selling outright from the moment you first introduced them in the market.

No, sales don’t work like that. It requires constant follow-ups and reminders. Not too frequent, which will drive away your customers, but soon enough so that your customers remember you always.

That’s what you learn in your marketing class. That’s what Kotler has mentioned in his marketing book.

But, the real-life experience can be completely different from those words you read in your textbook or heard in your class. Afterall, sales and marketing is one of the toughest jobs for entrepreneurs.

Yet, these two profiles are imperative for the company to live and survive.

You cannot put off the need to check on your customer after service/sales. Follow-up is important. You simply cannot ignore deadlines by shrugging your shoulders or saying ‘Just Not Right Now!’

To accept the fact that most of your prospective customers will not buy from you instantly. Even though you made an amazing first impression with your more than perfect first sales pitch/email, holding a great meeting, or running a fantastic product demo.

It is true – First Impressions are always the Last Impressions.

And, it is so true that you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

But what if you do nothing after the initial impression or after the initial sales pitch?

Do you think your customers will remember you after a month of no contact from your end?

Do you wish to take those chances?

If you are guilty of holding back after the initial sales call, you need to wake up and focus on perfecting your sales follow-up as well.

Here are the reasons behind why forever follow up is so important –

Reason 1: Statistics Don’t Lie

Yes! These statistics don’t lie. Let’s see what they have to say –

According to researchers, “80% of sales require an average of five follow-ups in order to close the deal.”

Do you think your sales team follows this golden rule of ‘five follow-ups per lead?”

Again, studies show that “44% of sales reps follow up with a prospect only once before giving up.” On the other hand, “94% of salespeople give up after the fourth follow up.”

That’s what the actual picture of any regular sales team will look like unless you have a proper mechanism in place to keep the team on its toes. Because if you don’t, that’s an awful lot of potential leads lost every day and a humongous amount of profit not earned at all.

Yes, most customers indeed ignore sales emails more often. According to Harvard Business Review, every professional has an average of over 200 emails lying in their inbox at any given time.

Just think about the figure – who has the time-bandwidth to open and read every single email? Forget about replying to them!

It’s not that your customers forgot you or deliberately ignored your emails. No! It simply means that your emails are not good enough to draw their attention or compel them to open and read.

So, continuous follow-up is not only needed but how you follow up is equally important. Focus on both!

Reason 2: A Follow-up is Easy Marketing

What’s the purpose of checking up on prospective customers frequently?

That’s customer service. Yes! Your brand’s reputation is at stake, and you simply cannot go wrong with customer servicing.

And, customer service again is a broad terminology.

If you wish to retain your loyal customers, you have to keep checking up on them from time to time – not always to sell something but also to understand their experience with your product or service.

Be ready to offer any assistance if they raise some concerns regarding your product.

Another way to check whether your customers are still with you or not, send notifications or offer discount coupons on repurchase. In short, incentivize them back to your service.

Based on their earlier purchases, push products that best meet their requirements. By doing so, you are inciting them to spend more on your products.

Ask for their feedback and address any grievances raised promptly.

These are small tricks to keep your customers fully satisfied.

A happy customer is a repeat customer!

And, one happy customer is equal to two happy customers!

Yes! If your customer is extremely happy with your service, he/she will propagate your brand reputation to others through ‘word-of-mouth marketing.

Your brand name will spread among other people without you knowing about it. This is easy and cost-efficient marketing.

Reason 3: Give Customers a Chance to Get Heard

A regular follow-up empowers your customers to get themselves heard of what their concern areas are or their grievances.

Such a follow-up gives you a chance to enhance your customer service. And, as mentioned before, good customer service leaves your customers overly satisfied with your service and turns them into the most loyal followers.

And, before you realize, your company will get more leads to convert into through the same ‘word-of-mouth’ strategy.

It is not always that customers pick up your helpline number to address their issues unless they feel they did not get the right kind of service in return for the price they paid. But, they still might have a few issues which might compel them to look for other options in the market.

You don’t want to lose your potential customers or a chance to get more promising leads in the future.

So, it is imperative to check on your customers to understand all is well with your product/service.

Reason 4: An Existing Customer is a Potential Buyer of Your Next Product

Like we mentioned earlier, a loyal customer will always be interested in what’s coming next in your line of business, what more you have to offer to them.

There’s a high probability that your existing customers will say yes to your new product more easily than a new customer.

So, if you have a band of loyal followers, you will have a good chunk of the market always in your favor. Your early services will make them return to you with their new requirements.

If your services successfully meet them, they will always stay by your side no matter what.

So you see, forever follow-up is really important for your company to stay ahead in the competition curve. Instill the same practice in your team and build a ‘regular culture of frequent follow up.’

There are different ways to make yourself heard and stay in-sight of your customers without annoying them with continuous after-sales notifications. But that’s going to be an entirely different article altogether.

If you wish to discover those interesting after-sales tactics to keep your customers loyal to your brand, then stay tuned with us for future updates. All you need to do is sign up to our weekly newsletter.

So long, happy reading!