There are 6 main areas, or reasons, to employ follow-up tactics in your day-to-day business life: thank you; personal; gather information; administration; provide information; and product and service sales.
In a previous article I talked in detail about the first three and now I'm going to examine the remaining three areas of follow-up. I've listed the marketing strategies you can use under each key area and also examples of the type of content for each of these follow-up tactics.
1. Administrative
There will be many times that your follow up communications will deal with administrative information. Don't dismiss these opportunities - they provide you with a reason to touch base with your list and show your attention to details and support for their success.
Examples of follow-up regarding administration:
Provide Details about Upcoming Events --> when people have signed up for mastermind groups, membership groups, workshops, teleseminars, client meetings, etc. your follow-up will include details about phone-in lines, private email addresses, passwords, dates and times, and the like.
Confirm Sign Up --> use a follow-up email to confirm a person's sign-up (to teleclasses, groups, mastermind calls) and use the opportunity to insert a quick tip to reinforce that you are an expert and they've made the right decision to sign up.
Reminders of Deadlines --> a great follow-up marketing tactic is not only necessary (to remind busy people about important deadlines) but also a chance to re-iterate all the reasons why they should meet the deadline - for things such as: ending of special sales and promotions, registration is closing, send in their answers to a survey, last chance to participate in a fun contest, and so on
2. Provide information
In addition to providing administrative details to your list, you should also make a point of consistently following up to provide information that helps people solve their problem or issue. You want to ensure that all of your follow-up provides valuable and need-to-know stuff, but this is where you can really demonstrate your expertise and build respect and credibility with your prospects and clients.
You need to be constantly on the look-out for great things that you can share - whether it's from you or other reputable companies and people. Use your follow-up marketing to give your list no-charge, indispensable and relevant information such as:
- Articles
- Ezines
- Links to other Sites
- Case Studies
- Link to Ebooks
- Success Stories
3. Product and service sales
Of course talking about follow-up marketing strategies wouldn't be complete if we didn't talk about sales follow-up.
Many companies only follow up with their prospects and customers when they want to sell them something. I hope that after reading all the material prior to this section that you realize that follow-up needs to be so much more than that.
How often do you think people want to be contacted and asked to buy something? How about a big fat zero! But people do want to be kept informed of your offerings so that if they decide to purchase a product or service, they have all the details.
So when you're sending out sales follow-up communications forget the hard-sell and view it as just another opportunity to give people on your list valuable and important information.
Below are a few of the reasons you would follow up with prospects and customers regarding products and service sales:
Up-Sell --> Let them know about a great add-on to the product they just purchased - and offer a special price or bonus for them if they buy it.
Cross-Sell --> Tell them about a new service, product or VIP program that builds on the knowledge and expertise they've gained from the previous offerings they purchased.
Affiliate Products and Services --> Keep your list in-the-know about other people's products and services (your affiliates) that may be of assistance to them.
Contests --> Keep your list engaged and show them your fun side by holding cool contests that provide an opportunity to win something if they demonstrate what they've learned, provide the best testimonial, refer 3 friends, answer a quick survey and so on.
Check in with first-time customers --> Use follow-up to find out if they're happy with their purchase and to see if they have any questions or need anything else - of course, don't forget to tell them about another products they might like.
Bonuses --> Why not surprise your list with a follow-up that holds a surprise bonus for them - something like a digital goodie, bonus report, online coupon, resource list, consultation, and the like.
Special Promotions --> Let your prospective and current clients know about any special promotions or sales you are having - in honor of Christmas, 1st day of summer, your birthday and so on...be creative.
Take some time today to look at where you could fit some of these follow-up strategies in your business and marketing activities. Utilizing follow-up marketing can make a huge difference in your success.
Jody Gabourie, The Small Business Marketing Coach, teaches simple, innovative and powerful marketing strategies to help business owners find and keep their most profitable clients. To learn more about how she can help you take your business to the next level, and to sign up for her FREE special report, ezine and articles, visit her site at http://www.JodyGabourieMarketingCoach.com
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