This Valentine’s Day let love guide your messaging! Many people are thinking about lost love and missed opportunities. During this time of year, as a marketer, you should take the time to rekindle customer relationships! A lot of relationships fell by the wayside in 2020, so if you’re trying to improve them and win back hearts, you must take a step back and restore your brand’s perception.
If you’re wanting to reconnect with lost customers and bring back that special spark this Valentine’s Day, here are a few ideas to help you along the way:
Dust-Off The Client Archive & Build Up Confidence
First, you must stop feeling hesitant or too embarrassed to reconnect. Like any other relationship, customer relationships require a high level of effort, time, and attention. Take action by using your contact list of old customers and leads or creating one. You can do this by accessing your client archive and understand why connections ended. Recall what goals and values-led you to the original connections and be honest with yourself. You should remain humble and open-minded in your approach. Conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to understand why some clients lost interest or value in your services. By doing so, you’ll discover ways how you could win them back. Research businesses or industry to better understand their goals and needs, especially if you’ve dropped the ball when it comes to staying in touch. If you’ve had a relationship before, odds are strong you can have a relationship again! Send some love and you may get some in return!
Be Yourself, You’re Valuable!
Now that you’ve compiled a client list and completed the research, treat your customer archive as the memory of the business – holding general knowledge and evidence of customer experiences. Use this information along with your SWOT analysis to understand the appropriate way to build a re-established connection. If you need to make an apology, now is the time to communicate that you should have done better at keeping in touch and will do so moving forward.
How Can You Build Customer Relationships?
Your client archive can help you create new, memorable experiences and improved marketing and customer service strategies. The following are simple ideas on how you can open the door of communication again and reengage with past leads:
For B2C Leads – Resist the urge of being too pushy and use an “ice breaker” to open doors for communication. You can create a fun contest or sweepstakes that offers rewards for those who participate. The information gathered would help create a buyer persona and could also include user-generated content (UGC).
For B2B Leads – Your ability to share your value organically will be highly valued by B2B leads. You may need to invest more time into building and re-establishing these relationships, such as creating a free report about their industry that shares valuable insights, while also offering their business a free assessment. This offer would be effective by sharing how your expertise could continue to benefit their business.
Once you open the door of communication, give your reconnected relationship time to grow. Don’t bombard your old leads and former customers; however, you should send a follow-up response every few weeks to showcase your value and ask if you can be of assistance in any way. If you know your old leads and customers well, you should have an idea of their communication styles, such as sending personal emails, conducting phone calls, or connecting on social media.
Treat Customers How You Want To Be Treated.
You should always hold respect for your clients and vice versa. Not all rediscovered customers will want to continue a relationship. Some may be disgruntled customers or others may no longer need your services. Regardless if this happens, you should always express your appreciation for their time and continue making a good impression.
You’ll be surprised how many people want to do business with you, especially if you treat them how you want to be treated. As mentioned earlier, it will become important to stay in touch even after you rekindle a connection. When customers are happy, they go on to recommend your business with positive word of mouth.
At Envision Creative, we believe in the importance of building healthy business relationships! Talk to our marketing experts to learn how we can help you build great relationships with clients and achieve great results!