https://www.bsvp.com BSVP On-Site asks the question, How do you keep in touch with your customers?
We live in a digital age, where everyone believes that the digital communications, Facebook, social media, email can take the place of personal contact. It can’t.
The life’s blood of local business is the people who come through the door everyday. Most young entrepreneurs who grew up with the Internet have built their business model around virtual relationships. Peer influence has always had an impact in school and to some extent in business on what to buy and where to get it. Today’s Millennials seem to have no brand loyalty. The question is, once you land a customer, how do you keep them from buying from your competition next time?
The business owners selected in this episode of BSVP On-Site come from the finance, human resources and retail industries.
Join the conversation, leave your comment below.
George Skweres, Affinity Finance Services: I keep in touch with my customers in two ways, telephone and email.
David Hayworth, Active HR Leadership: The way I stay in touch with my clients and to build that relationship with them is to meet with them one on one.
Kevin Kane, Hansa Coffee Roasters: Nothing takes the place of calling your customer up on the phone and ask them how things are going, what their concerns are, what’s going on. And even to call, not to solicit business, not something about business, but to call them and say “hello”.
Hayworth: I will send them information as well, via email telling them what’s current in the news that’s human resources related that and info that will be able to help them.
Kane: Phone calls need to go out monthly, maybe weekly and a personal visit once a month.
Go out and visit your clients, get to know them. People want to do business with people that they know and like.
Hayworth: Really find out who they are in their personal lives so I can ask them how’s the kids doing in college or how’s your dog or your new puppy doing or to really see what their business needs are, what their vision is for their organization.
Skweres: Myself, I’ve learned that if somebody is communicating with me or needs to get in touch with me or wants to, I would rather receive an email than a telephone call because I could look at the email and respond to the email at my leisure when I have time rather than having to respond immediately.
Hayworth: When I’m using LinkedIn or Twitter, it typically deals with general announcements of human resources in the news and topics that would affect my clients. Just to keep them up on the news, stay proactive and to stay ahead of any issues that would impact them.
Kane: That builds relationship and relationship is what makes business sustainable. And that’s even more important in this digital age that we live in where personal contact is eliminated by these machines that we interface through.
George Skweres, Affinity Financial Services
David Hayworth, Active HR Leadership
Kevin Kane, Hansa Coffee Roasters
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