There was a movie in the '90s (caught it on cable recently) titled, “That Thing You Do!” It featured Tom Hanks as a young, talented musician who ends up in a boy band in 1964. They ultimately named the band, “The Wonders.” The story unfolds as they have a big hit and as the band starts to take off, it all just falls apart. They become a one-hit wonder pop band. As it turns out, there are more “one-hit wonders” bands out there than you might think. Try listening to rebroadcasts of the Casey Kasem Top 40 radio show. He typically points them out.
So, why is that relevant to our lives? Well, I was reminded about the one-hit wonders this morning during a breakfast meeting. I was meeting with a chamber member who wanted to get more involved and wanted some direction. To help guide him, I needed to learn more about his business and his best clients. So, he shared one of the areas that is thriving for him (he’s a digital marketing consultant) is helping businesses stay in touch with their clients more regularly. He indicated that when he asks how they stay in touch and how often, most say “we send a holiday card during the holidays each year.”
Staying in Touch Increases Sales
Wow! I know we all are busy, but is that really a viable plan?
I have to say I’ve heard the same thing and I have experienced it myself many times. About 18 months ago I moved my website work to a different company because the previous company just stopped touching base. I had met the new website designer (they also maintain and do the SEO work) at a chamber function and we starting talking. Now, we’ve done six websites for clients and have two more proposals out. The original company doesn’t have a clue how much business he just “threw” away just because he disappeared.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
I say the same thing to my industry suppliers. The old adage is true, “out of sight out of mind.” I know we all have our “favorite” suppliers that we gravitate to when we are looking for ideas for our clients and they will probably never “disappear.” But there are so many supplier options out there that I admit that I forget about them if I haven’t seen anything from them in a while (and not just the one of more than a hundred email flyers I get every day – yes it was probably deleted without opening).
We have many supplier reps who stop by our office. I value the time they spend with us as I get many new ideas and most are great at sharing how others may be using a particular product that I might not have thought about. One came by recently and shared that our business was up with them dramatically last year. Why? Well, they started visiting us. For about two years they didn’t connect with us and their business from us suffered as a result.
Are you doing the same thing? Or are you getting out to actually SEE your clients and TALK to them. I know it’s easy to get caught up in the just touching base by email and not get out from behind the desk to go meet with a client. But an email is easily deleted and forgotten. Stopping by with product samples (and maybe a tasty treat) goes a long way to increasing the connection and memory!
Stay Connected Regularly
I personally love going to see my clients and have developed a rotating quarterly meetings master calendar so I make sure that either myself or the key account manager actually gets out to everyone at least three or four times per year (of course some see us monthly due to the nature of their business with us).
At the end of the year, of course we take the opportunity to spread some holiday cheer. We actually dressed in red this year (should have worn a Santa hat) and spent the week before the holiday break going from client to client. It was a great time and we were very well received and we ended up with a good number of meetings on the calendar for January to talk about their 2016 needs.
Now that it’s spring, we are gearing up for our next round. We just received a few new self-promotion items and we’ve developed a presentation of some of our hot picks as the “hook” for the meeting. If I’m not doing a meeting, I am doing lunch, breakfast or drinks (one client loves champagne like I do so we try to make a point of a quarterly ladies' night out!). The point is staying in front of clients to know what their potential needs will be so you can be proactive or, if a need arises, you are their first call (not the dreaded, I used to work with someone but can’t remember who).
The bottom line is that technology will not take the place of the value of an in-person meeting anytime soon. It’s what sets most of us apart from the online stores.
Don’t meet with a client, get an order and disappear. Don’t be that one-hit wonder. Be there for the long haul. It’s so much easier and more profitable to keep a client than to be constantly getting new ones. So develop your plan for staying in touch and then do it.
Your bottom line will thank you!
Danette Gossett is the founder of Gossett Marketing, co-founder of Promotions Rescource LLC and co-author of the best-selling book “Transform” with Brian Tracy. Danette utilizes her more than 30 years of advertising agency and corporate marketing experience to develop effective promotional campaigns and products for her clients. Visit GossettMktg.com or SalesPromo.org and follow us on twitter @MarketngTidbits.