Keeping in touch with customers will keep them calling

We all know by now how bad the economy is and how deep a recession we are in. What surprises me is that business owners or corporations still are not doing something simple and smart about this that can have a dramatic effect on their business right now.

To be profitable in any industry, a company must sell its product or service at a competitive price and, naturally, sell it at some sort of profit.

Oh sure, a company can sell its goods at an extremely low price and say that it sold an enormous amount and make very little profit or none at all.

The key is also to watch the expenses and have a profitable company with enough employees to satisfy customers and provide them with an experience that would cause the customer to do business with that company again.

What is so surprising to me is that companies are looking for ways to cut costs (which I have no problem with), but they are not looking at ways to improve their business model and become more productive, with better sales and customer service practices.

This is the area that is most overlooked and can have dramatic results with little effort and a simple game plan.

I have spoken to dozens of companies in the past few weeks, and none of them was doing what I am about to discuss.

Members of the organizations I talked to were at the CEO or executive VP level, and their industries included retail, health care, investment services, banking and manufacturing. Obviously, those industries I mentioned cover many different types of businesses that employ tens of thousands of people.

All the companies I talked with agreed that what I was explaining to them should be done.
They even said, "That is a good idea." I guarantee you that very few, if any, of the companies have actually implemented these concepts yet. If they did, they are not being done consistently, with management holding people accountable on a day-to-day basis.

Here is what you should do in good times as well as bad economic times:

CALL YOUR CUSTOMERS
For instance, in the furniture industry, why not have your salespeople make a few calls to their customer base to say hello rather than just standing around talking to one another waiting for someone to walk into your store?

The phone call could go something like this:
"Hello Mr. Jones, this is Hal calling from XYZ, and I want to thank you for your purchase of the couch. If you were to buy furniture for any other room in your house, which room would you be thinking about? It would be great if you kept us in mind. Thank you."

That same salesperson should be calling his or her customers at least three times a year just to say hello and hope they are enjoying the furniture and say nothing else.

No sales pitch, just a thank-you call to keep their name in front of the customer.

CALL PAST CUSTOMERS
If a salesperson left the company, who is staying in touch with the customer?
Usually no one, or the customer now goes to a "house account." The newer salespeople could acquire these customers and also stay in touch with them with a simple conversation:

"Hello, my name is Hal, and I am now taking over for your past salesperson. How has the (insert product or service here) been working for you? I will be in touch from time to time to make sure that you are still a satisfied customer of ours. Have a good afternoon, and thank you for your past business."

These types of phone calls can be done by almost any type of business, not just retail.
Imagine if your doctor left you a voice mail saying: "Hello, I was just looking at your file and thinking about you, and I hope that you are feeling well and still watching your weight and cholesterol. See you on your next visit!"

Almost any industry can make customer follow-up phone calls, but very few companies and people do it with any consistency and regularity.

Trust me, if you start doing this ASAP, you will find a loyal customer base and satisfied customers or maybe even dissatisfied, which you now can help because of your efforts and two-way communication.

by Hal Becker Hal Becker (Becker is an author and trainer in sales and customer service.)