We all know the line from the 1987 hit movie Wall Street – Greed is Good!
Well it’s since turned out that monetary greed isn’t so good, and not so long ago just like Gordon Gecko a swarm of executives found themselves in some very hot water (and in some cases; jail).
As a by-product of their efforts a financial crisis that many have all but forgotten is still effecting businesses and operators, meaning that the services and products they sell this Christmas may be a well received lifeline or last chance for their business.
There are some operators and businesses however that the past 3 years have been easier for (that’s easier not easy) than others, and while some of you think they must have some magic sauce, they actually don’t. These businesses have simply been forward planners who put in a little effort early on to ensure that they can reap the rewards of their previous hard work. How? What did they do?
They utilise customer relationship management.. What? They build and maintain relationships with their clients – it’s as simple as that!
Just like we do each and every day in our personal lives, these businesses work on their relationships and online reputation. They understand that just because they didn’t need clients then and there, over a period of time they would, and have, and they acknowledged the well known sentiment that it is 8 times easier to sell to a previous client than to a new contact – a lot less work and effort to put in if you are already maxed out and cutting staff.
Now, I understand that ‘”they build and maintain relationships with their clients” is a bit vague and not so actionable, so I have put together a list of the top activities you NEED to put in place to maximise your customer relationship management efforts to ensure you still have the attention of your clients after the Christmas influx.
It’s not just about managing your businesses online reputation; it’s about connecting, enhancing your reputation, building solid and ongoing relationships and forming a mutual understanding between your business and your clients and once you do you will feel the benefits of what I have dubbed ‘Relationship Greed‘ – building and enhancing relationships with your contacts, in more than one form so you can ensure you are reaching them using the tools they relate to best.
If you think having a pool of qualified clients waiting for you to sell them something sounds like a good idea you need to download the checklist and get started! By completing the action checklist, you will be implementing strategies and tools in your business that will remain for the long haul, allowing you to continue your focus on running and marketing the business while the businesses online reputation and customer relationship management maintains itself (with some help from you of course). We have split the checklist up into 5 key sections that when combined create a strategy that you can plan, implement, monitor and refine. The 5 key sections are:
- Maximise social media networks
- Utilise email marketing software
- Create a communication calendar
- Manage an online reputation strategy
- Track everything with a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM)
Don’t fall into the trap of treating each client as an accomplishment once they have handed over some cash. If you have a good product, you treat your clients well and you take time to make them feel special you will find that they come back for more, not just once, multiple times and the next time you are looking for new clients you will be able to simply flick over to your social media accounts and with proof from your strong online reputation they will become return customers.
