| | | | |

Client Follow-Up Programs: Grow Your Numbers With Every Lead

Bylori

client follow-up programWhat’s your best source of new business leads? Your existing clients. Client follow-up programs are a must-have if your goal is to maximize customer retention while also generating quality leads.

You’ve heard the hype, but just how powerful is a high customer retention rate? Research shows that a simple 10 percent increase in customer retention can lead to a dramatic 80 percent increase in profits. An excellent follow-up program will keep the lines of communication open between you and your existing clients, making it effortless for them to interact with you, and provide feedback or leads.

Keeping connected is what effective client follow-up programs are all about. Implementing a marketing solution to increase customer retention and lead generation can also help you keep communications open in a variety of ways:

  • Get feedback and generate leads from customers with postage-paid response cards attached to your “keeping in touch” mailings, or quick and easy online response forms linked to your e-mail greetings.
  • Generate referrals through simple and convenient response forms.
  • Learn about customer satisfaction and needs by sending surveys with postage-paid envelopes included.
  • Point customers to your social media links to stay connected in a more comprehensive fashion.
  • Up sell and cross sell to existing clients with services or products they may not have known about. Clients who are happy with your service are more likely to buy more, even if you’re a little more expensive than the competition.
  • Learn how customers are using your products or services, and how they would like to use them in the future.
  • Foster a positive ongoing relationship that keeps you high in your client’s good graces and awareness.
  • Subtly request referrals without appearing pushy or needy.
  • Learn what’s important to new referrals, and what you could do to earn their business.
  • Make marketing simple with ongoing, comprehensive campaigns, regardless of how busy you get.
  • Send birthday cards or thank you notes to clients.

Finding new clients can be seven to 10 times more expensive than retaining existing ones, so caring for your business relationships is key to continued growth.

What makes for a memorable follow-up experience? Share your thoughts, please.

Image via Shutterstock.com