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Powerful relationships don’t just happen from one-time meeting at network event- you don’t need another pocketful of random business cards to clutter your desk. What you need is a plan to make those connections grow and work for you. And It’s not as hard as you think. Here are five essential tactics: 1. Build your network–let’s your sales lifeline. Your network includes business colleagues, professional acquaintances, prospective and existing customers, partners, suppliers, contractors and association members, as well as family, friends and people you meet at school, church and in your community.
Contacts are potential customers waiting for you to connect with their needs. Networking Is a long-term Investment. Do It right by adding value to the relationship, ND that contact you Just made can really pay off. Communicate Like your business’s life depends on it. 2. Communication is a contact sport, so do it early and often. Relationships have a short shelf life. No matter how charming, enthusiastic or persuasive you are, no one will likely remember you from a business card or a one- time meeting.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they come home from networking events and fail to follow up. Make the connection Immediately. Send a “nice to meet you” e-mail or let these new contacts know you’ve added them to your swelter list and then send them the latest copy. Immediately reinforce who you are, what you do and the connection you’ve made. 3. E-mail marketing keeps relationships strong on a shoestring budget. Build your reputation as an expert by giving away some free insight. You have interesting things to say!
An easy way to communicate is with a brief e-mail newsletter that shows prospects why they should buy from you. For Just pennies per customer, you can distribute an e-mail newsletter that Includes tips, advice and short Items that entice consumers and leave them wanting more. E-mail marketing Is a cost-effective and easy way to stay on customers’ minds, build their confidence in your expertise, and retain them. 4. Reward loyal customers, and they’ll reward you. According to global management consulting firm Pain and Co. A 5 percent increase in retention yields profit increases of 25 to 100 percent. And on average, repeat customers spend 67 percent more than new customers. So your most profitable customers are repeat customers. Are you doing enough to encourage them to work with you again? Stay In touch, and give them something of value in exchange for their time, attention and business. It doesn’t need to be too much; a coupon, notice of a special event, helpful insights and advice, or news they can use are all effective. 5.
Loyal customers are your best salespeople. So spend the time to build your network and do the follow-up. Today there are cost effective tools, like e-mail marketing, that make this easy. You can e-mail a simple newsletter, an offer or an update message of Interest to your network (make sure It’s deliver value back to you with referrals. They’ll hear about opportunities you’ll never hear about. Customer equity represents an attempt by businesses to measure the Roth of all of their customers throughout their lifetimes.
A company that establishes a strong customer base and builds a strong relationship with that base is poised to do well in the ultra-competitiveness business world. This approach represents a shift in thinking away from marketing strategies that are focused on the products that a company sells. The three main prongs of the customer equity approach are measuring how much value a customer perceives he receives from a company, assessing how much a company’s brand resonates with a customer, and determining owe well the company retains customers throughout their lifetime.
In the modern business world, creating a new approach to developing business is a difficult task. Most attempts to try and shine a spotlight on the products or services that a company offers have been tried many times over and may not impress customers anymore. As such, many companies instead start with the customers, developing a relationship first before trying to push their products. The worth of the customer base a company has built to the company represents its customer equity.