Keep-InTouch.com

The True Value of Customer Relationships

How to create Long Term Business Relationships?:

Customers are good for business, because without customers there would be no business. Life long customers are especially good for business. Which would cause you to sleep better at night, a one time sale when you have to continue to promote discounts or develop a relationship so that your clients trust you for themselves and their friends? If you understand the benefits of the cumulative value of every customer, you would want to build a relationship for life.

Let’s define the cumulative value of a customer. It is the total amount of business that the customer gives to you over the life of your relationship. This translates into the longer the relationship, the more value. So of course, it’s in your best interest to hold onto every customer for as long as possible. This can also include additional benefits such as the referrals, and the customer’s willingness to promote you without compensation.

In order for you to begin developing this relationship and create this lasting income resource, you have to give your customers a reason to return, and always make it easy. This means from the very first introduction, you lead your customers to the next level in the relationship. Imagine keeping the customers coming back. How do you think your business would look in just a short amount of time. It certainly would cause you to do something different other than putting their name in a file and out of mind. Here’s a rule, if you forget about them, they will forget about you.

So what are the first steps to begin developing your massive business based on long term relationships and how do you determine the value?

Here is a starting point:
Gather as much information as possible, answer these questions
Who are they
What are their needs
When will they require the need to be fulfilled
Why are they interested in what you have to offer
Where will they apply your product or service
Focusing on the customer builds trust
Keep in Touch with your customers
Keep your customers informed of things they can take advantage of
Develop an image of being the authority in your area of expertise
Develop your relationship, but don’t base it on sales, base it on trust.

Make it easy and convenient to deal with you.

Pretty fundamental, however the challenge is that knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. What makes it such a challenge? These techniques take time, effort, organization, creativity, and a host of other things that TAKE YOU AWAY from your actual selling time. Most of us are working on income producing activity and don’t do what needs to be done to develop relationships.

Get a System:
Sure, building a customer relationship looks easy on paper, but it takes a commitment on your part. Commitments are supported by developing a system, a way to remain accountable. It is the little things that mean a lot. There may not be a direct correlation between taking the time to call a customer to wish them a happy birthday and your weekly sales numbers, but the intangible effect is there. Retaining a customer takes a small fraction of the cost of obtaining a new customer. If you make the effort and pay attention, you will find that your current customers are also your best leads. Having a system and strategy will empower you to build a strong relationship.

Reconsider Your Clients
Consider everyone as a lead. Sort through those old business cards, filing cabinets, and gather names from every source you can think of. Categorize them, group them, and start to reconnect with them.

Differentiate Yourself from Others
You can still send email, an occasional card or letter, and even call them. With all the email spam, junk mail, unsolicited phone calls and other interruptions in your customers lives, you can be different. More importantly, in the mind of your customer, your correspondence will be placed into a totally different category. To the degree that people Know, Like, and Trust you they will buy and refer business to you. You must think long-term and you can’t build a strong foundation on the desire for the quick sale.

Think Long-Term
It is common to hear things like it’s a buyers market or sellers market. Really, it is just a market that either a buyer or seller can take advantage of. Too often professionals consider what they have everyone should buy. Really this is a quick sale and isn’t long term. Educating your clients and prospects that what you have may fill a need they have creates more trust and confidence. This also leads to less stress on your part, because you are communicating with power to an audience who is interested in what you have to offer. Considering long term effects makes you and authority and people are willing to listen.

The Relationship Has Only Just Begun
Big marketing firms use it, why shouldn’t you? Marketing is a formula of Range and Frequency, the more impressions you receive, the more likely you will think of them when you are ready to buy. Their formula is based on not having as strong of a qualifying audience. Your audience has engaged you and given you permission to communicate, so therefore your relationship is better. So the only thing you have to work on is frequency. If you’ve ever heard the term Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA), you probably understand why it is so important to make sure your customers remember you. Later we will discuss TOMA and give you some clues into how it can work for you.

If you need help managing all those prospects and keeping in touch with them on a regular basis, talk with us! Keep-in Touch is the most versatile and easy-to-use customer contact and follow-up system on the market, and it’s virtually hands free. Just put in the data and Keep-in Touch does the rest. Spend only a few minutes each month to build strong relationships based on trust with past, current, and future customers.

Why “Out of Sight Out of Mind” Can Kill

You make thousands of decisions each day. What factors influence those decisions? Research shows that there are certain things that will trigger responses, largely based on emotion, which can give you a sort-of “mind control.

” Wouldn’t be great to know how to control someone’s mind, especially when it comes to buying your product or service? Why do we naturally associate certain products and services with certain brands or people? And also, why would a company invest so much into putting their name in front of you on a consistent basis?

The answer is impressions, there is a part of the brain that ties together the subconscious and conscious mind with the decision making process.

The result of consistent impressions is called TOMA, (Top of Mind Awarenes) in otherwords, it is the first thing that comes to mind with little to no effort. How many impressions do you think you receive on a daily basis from big companies? Everytime you hear or see an ad, that’s an impression. Why do they do it? TOMA, why do you remember a song 2 notes in without hearing the words? TOMA, Remember the commercial “Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz… Can you finish the rest? If you can, that’s TOMA and chances are that if you are under the age of 25 you won’t recall it because you never heard it.

Are those ads and impression valuable information for you? Maybe, maybe not. Why was it so easy for you to recall the information when you may not have heard it in years? TOMA. It is very valuable information for the companies that produce it.

You see, if we input information into the mind often enough, the mind will be able to recall it quickly and easily. That is what big advertizing firms want. For you to recall them quickly and easily when you discover you have a need, they will be the first one’s you think of to fill that need.

It is all a matter of impressions. So how can you compete against large, big budget firms? Create your own system of delivering impressions. By the way, since large advertisers can’t validate that their message was received, you have an advantage. Because your customers and prospects, know you, like you, and trust you, they will be more willing to accept information from you.

Personalized information from someone they relate to creates a much bigger impression than from someone they don’t know. That’s why sending direct mail and email consistently is so important.

So the moral of the story is to stay inside the mind to be used quickly and easily. Be part of their Top of Mind Awareness. If you can stay there, and you are offering something of value, you will thrive. When it comes time for that person to make a decision, they will think of you and all your hard work will pay off. The side benefit is that you will also be inserted into their conversations with others. As a resource who often communicates and provides a better experience, your clients will be more likely to speak highly of you when discussing a topic that is relevant to what you offer.

I hope you have truly enjoyed today’s talk on TOMA and that you were able to learn something in the process. Even if you already were aware of TOMA, but today’s topic caused something in you to want to do more.

If you would like to learn more about the Keep-in Touch System, please don’t hesitate to contact us. If you are considering a system to help you build strong, trusting relationships between you and your clients, we would love to talk with you. We look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions or comments that you would like to share. www.keep-intouch.com

Holidays are a great way to reconnect

Holidays are a great way for you to reconnect with family. It is also a great way to reconnect with friends and clients. I use my “E-Plan” and name it Holiday so that I can assign all my clients and prospects to it quickly and easily. It has a couple of elements that may be of interest to you:

1. I prepare an E-plan around every holiday, every month.
2. In August I simply celebrate “Hot August Nights”
3. I look for a tidbit about the holiday.
4. Send good holiday wishes to them.
5. Suggest that for clients who have product to sell, that they encourage a “click here” link to their site.
6. Also make a request for them to call or contact me.

Here’s wishing you much success with your E-plans. If you have any questions. Please feel free to contact Sales anytime at (877) 321-6500.

Financial Services

The financial services industry includes a broad range of firms and providers that all focus on the tasks of managing and growing money for clients.

Check out why Banks, Insurance Brokers, Mortgage Lenders, Consumer or Business Finance Representatives, Stock Brokers, and Financial Planners , who represent 20% of the United States market, capitalize on revenues by using Keep-InTouch to maxmize client loyalty with relationship marketing.

Creating Customer Loyalty with 7 Simple Steps

Customer loyalty has to be earned, too often there is no value left for them and so they leave. Creating loyalty means creating value for them and this is important to your business.

Loyal customers will help you bring in repeat business and referrals, so they cannot be overlooked. When business™ apply the 80/20 Rule, they discover that 80% of the business comes from 20% of their loyal customers. Let’s explore some methods to keep those current customers loyal and have them become advocates for your company. If you don’t yet have a specific plan for customer loyalty, these tips will help:

1. Don’t Overlook Current Customers in your Marketing

What can you offer your customers different than anyone else? By offering them something special enhances that feeling of loyalty. By demonstrating loyalty to them, they will begin to demonstrate it to you as well. What is possible? Maybe it’s a free consultation or something else of value. Remember, it’s the perceived value that is important to your customer. Even if the item you offer costs only your time, it still may be extremely valuable to your customer.

2. Stay In Touch with Your Customers

It’s a proven fact that the more a customer hears from you, the more likely you will be on their mind when they require your services. It’s like the saying, the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. These “touch points” do not need to be sales oriented. Send greeting cards at holidays and birthdays. Be a contributor to your customers by sending a short newsletter each month. Make sure the information you send is useful because that will help build trust and strengthen the relationship. If they perceive that you are helping them, they will be more inclined to become a loyal customer and advocate.

3. Create a corporate culture for Customer Loyalty

Customers want reliability and familiarity. They are looking to build a solid relationship just as much as you are. Consistency counts, it creates a sense of security. Customers may even let you make a mistake now and then because it is easier to let you slide than “training” a new company to take care of their needs in the way they have taught you. Constantly changing employees will not do anything for building strong customer relationships. Follow this rule of thumb: If you treat your employees well, they will treat your customers well.

4. Know the Stages Respond Accordingly

Growing your customer loyalty is a step-by-step process. It won’t happen over night. The six stages of loyalty are as follows:

Suspect

Prospect

First Time Customer

Repeat Customer

Client

Advocate

5. Don’t Sell Until They are Ready to Buy

Customers today are better informed than ever. They have access to information that allows them to easily research and compare goods and services. By sending them information, you are creating a relationship of trust, this also prevents them from looking for information elsewhere. You can take advantage of this by keeping in touch with customers on a friendly basis and staying on their minds. When they are ready to buy, they will think of you.

6. Deal with Problems and Complaints Immediately

Most of the time, the customer rarely makes a complaint with the company.

Brian Tracy has an excellent quote for this, I understand how you feel. I would feel the same way if I were you. This immediately creates relationship and allows them to feel heard. When a customer feels heard, generally, they will feel satisfied. This satisfaction is key to keeping people loyal and talking positively about you and your service. The reason people talk about situations like that is because it is a personal victory for them and they take ownership in getting it resolved properly.

7. Making the Effort even if it isn’t much effort at all

Recent research suggests that customers who receive communication through different methods are more likely to remain loyal. Their perception is that you are making an effort to keep them informed and provide customer service using a variety of channels at your disposal. As long as the information is valuable and not sales-oriented, your customer will appreciate it. This is especially true in dealing with customer support issues. The moment you begin using email, postal mail, and phone calls for the “hard sell” is the same moment your customer begins looking elsewhere.

You can use these seven tips to start gaining loyal customers right away! On occasion, you may want to come back and review this list to make sure you are still doing everything you can to create loyal customers. Keep an eye out for the next installment in the series where we get “into the heads” of buyers to find out what makes them tick.