How to Stay in Contact With Your Clients

Once you have completed a sale or finished a project, your periodic contacts with your clients may conclude. On the other hand, from a business perspective, it is important to maintain contact because it is easier to obtain repeat business and referral than it is to find a new client without a referral. On the personal side, you may have established a relationship which you would like to maintain because you enjoyed working with the client. A range of techniques for staying in contact with clients is presented in this article. Select the techniques which will be most relevant and helpful to you and your clients––you will also likely develop new approaches unique to you.

Edit Steps

Edit Written material

1. Send relevant information on a regular basis. As you read the professional literature, newspapers, magazines, trade publications and surf the Internet, be thinking about your clients. When you find an article which would be helpful to them, take the time to send them a link or a copy along with a short note explaining how you feel it will be of help or interest to them.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


2. Develop a regular newsletter for your clients. Write a newsletter that details events, new products, useful information, etc. At the time of signing up a client, ask for permission to send company information to their email address. That way, you have authorization to send your regular newsletter to your clients periodically.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


3. Remember special occasions. Send a note or card on special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, children's birthdays, graduations, etc.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Do something that is unique to you. For example, make a birthday card including a photo of the client from one of your company's events and decorate the card with art that would be meaningful to the client. For example, include a client's photo, some airplanes (say the client recently became a pilot), and #1 bear and a trophy (suggesting that the client is a champion), birthday balloons and appropriate wording.
   
   
   
   

Edit Meeting face to face with clients

1. Invite clients to events. If you are sponsoring or attending an event which you think your clients would be interested in, invite them to join you. Alternatively, send them a note saying "I hope to see you at this event", along with the event publicity materials.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


2. Seek clients from the crowd. When attending a trade show, professional meeting or other venue where your clients might also be visiting, actively look for the clients. Spend a few minutes to talk to them when you see them and to remind them that you remain interested in their well being.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Ask about the children. How did the little league season work out?
   
   
   • More things to talk about are suggested in Tips below.
   
   
   
   


3. Offer to help. When you conclude your current sale or project, finish by inviting your client to call you whenever they have a question which you may be able to help them with. Make it clear that this is never an imposition and that you welcome such continued linkages.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


4. Ask for help. Remember your client's expertise. Whenever you have a question which might benefit from your client's expertise, call on them. Of course, be thoughtful about how often you do this and to what extent you expect their help, but this can be an appreciative way to stay in touch over time.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


5. Stay active in your professional or local community. By being part of local and community events, you can increase your profile and maximize your opportunities to see your clients. This might be at schools, community groups, charity organizations, etc.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


6. Involve your clients in significant projects. When you are leading a service project which your clients might enjoy or otherwise benefit from, think about asking your clients to share their expertise on the project.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Edit Using social media to stay in touch

1. Connect with your clients on social networking sites. Become "friends" with your clients on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, etc. When you see a posting of theirs which you like, comment on it and "like" it. When you see your clients are connected at the same time as you are, say hello now and then.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Edit Providing incentives and rewards

1. Provide souvenirs. Give clients souvenirs which they are likely to keep with your contact information on them. Pens are popular items, but may get lost, plus they are common. You might consider calendar magnets, novelty items such as desk games or helpful tips on a magnet (and/or wallet size card). People will often display inexpensive trophies.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


2. Provide framed certificates and/or photographs. If you are a workshop leader, party planner, etc., consider presenting your client with a framed photograph or certificate which they might display at the office. Be sure your contact information appears on the item.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Edit Tips

• The following questions might be helpful for you in starting a dialog with a client:
  
  
  
  • How's business?
  
  
  • How is the family?
  
  
  • Have you completed X project?
  
  
  
  


• When you give a certificate or photo to a client think about what you would like them to do with it. For example:
  
  
  
  • A framed certificate or photo is ready to be hung on the wall.
  
  
  • A photo or certificate in a nice folder is likely to be placed in a filing cabinet.
  
  
  
  

Edit Warnings

• Don't overdo contacting clients. Sending information which is not specific to your clients may be viewed as spam.

Edit Sources and Citations

• http://ift.tt/1nU6o74 - Original source of this page. Shared with permission.

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