Tell Your Clients They're Important
Can you think of a company, private practice or business that you deal with that you feel really good about? Why? What makes it stand out?
How do you choose who you do business with?
General wisdom has it that bad news spreads ten times as fast as good news does. When people are dissatisfied they tell the immediate world. When they’re happy, they tend to be a bit quieter. That’s human nature, but as business owners, we need to work with that.
Call me old-fashioned, (or a geek – hey I DVR Jeopardy) but I think having customers, clients and patients that feel thrilled about the conscientious and quality service they get is really important. I value it with the people I do business with and I aim to provide that for my clients. What can you do to set yourself apart? To really provide great service and be sure that the people who do business with you know you value them? Here are a couple of simple suggestions: 1. Killer Follow Up. Be in touch with people regularly and thoughtfully. Look for articles or bits of information relevant to their business and send it their way. Someone I work with did this for me last week; sent me an article completely relevant to a project I’m working on and one I hadn’t seen. Not only was it a really nice touch, but I admired her business savvy AND it made me feel she was really dialed into my needs. I was already impressed with her, but this served to further just cement our relationship and my intention to send more biz her way.
2. Send a personal, hand-written note. To thank someone for their business. To send a clipping of an article instead of sending it by email. We get so little ‘real’ mail anymore that it’s a great way to stand out and get someone’s attention. It takes some effort, but that effort counts and is valued. You can even send a birthday card – a lot of people have their birth date as part of their social media profiles. I got one of those last month too (an unexpected birthday card in the mail) and it made me feel really good – simple, I know, but well, I guess I’m easy that way, what can I say.
3. Send a small gift. If someone does significant volume or ongoing business with you, or is considering doing business with you and you’ve met with them, either in person or on the phone – send them something. Send regional stuff: candy, jams, spices, lavender – we have some great things to send here in the Pacific Northwest – it doesn’t cost much, but it’s thoughtful and people remember it and it’s more impressive than some pre-packaged candy box. Although, I’ll admit I’ve gotten “corporate pre-packaged candy” and enjoyed it – but I’m a fan of candy – mostly good candy, but every now and again… Don’t go overboard, and you don’t have to do it every time for everyone, but it will make you stand out and that’s what you’re after.
4. I have clients in professional practice who give a Starbucks or Barnes and Noble gift card – $5, $10, even for someone coming in for a consult. If there’s some great local place that’s easy access – get a gift card from there. The others are ubiquitous and easy, so if your clients aren’t local, they can still partake….And, people are impressed by them. Send them in a greeting card to thank them; to tell them their business means a lot to you and here’s a token of your appreciation for considering you, or better yet, choosing you. It’s not the amount, it the level of thoughtfulness and detail that impresses clients. The note should be handwritten, but for the 10 minutes it takes to do this and the $10 it costs you can create a lot of goodwill cement a lot of business and make you and them, feel good in the bargain.
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