The key is followup. The problem is lack of it!
Erwin Brem
Supporting SMEs for 33yrs. Business strategist and trainer at Mybusinessnow and ReThinkBusinessGrowth. Its simply about developing better skills, strategies and support that grow businesses better, easier, uncomplicated!
I've written about this and talked about it at my workshops too many times to remember and it's funny how it keeps popping up and people continue complaining about how bad service, followup and engagement is right now. And after the last three months, you would've thought most businesses would learn something about that, but no!
Only today I read two posts on LinkedIn from people I know well. One was talking about the car he'd bought this year, and the utter lack of followup service from the car yard, yet all we hear about right now is how bad car sales are.
The other was about engagement and rather than use a database to just keep sending anything and everything out via email that around less than 30% gets opened let alone read, it's about building an engaging relationship with that list of potential and existing clients.
Both focused with how we aren't doing the things that build businesses now but should be getting back to some old-fashioned engagement-based relationship building. The problem as I see it is how we deal with communication now. Social media stops engagement, it doesn’t create it. If you post something on either Facebook or LinkedIn, or wherever you'll be lucky if you get any real engagement, let alone a comment and what's likely is currently under 1% if you're lucky.
It's even more than that though. People and/or businesses don't followup on average, return calls too quickly if at all or attempt to add value. It just doesn’t happen and try and get a smile from a retail assistant, especially lately, is rare.
I've recently been rolling out a new initiative that I'm looking at to see whether there's interest. It's called Sunshine Coast Made. The objective is simple, support local made and owned as opposed to outside. Support local businesses. The same concept would work anywhere, Brisbane, Gold Coast, anywhere. But if people don't engage, nothing will change. Before long I noticed a number of interesting things start to happen.
- Initial posts went ballistic. The highest reach I've ever had from an unpaid post. 21,000 plus, hundreds of engagements, hundreds of comments.
- I've kept posting regularly but added a link to a simple form to join the project.
- Post reach dropped dramatically, but was still in the multiple 1,000s.
- I added a free logo that could be used by any local business. A little like the Australian Made concept. There was interest.
- I then asked people if they were interested in being promoted "for free"! Some interest.
- Less people joined the group.
- If people asked how to get involved, I'd send a link, but they wouldn't do it.
- I also asked all businesses that joined, would you like to receive emails about other local businesses? 20% said no. They wanted to be promoted, but don't tell me about tell me about others.
Regardless of whether you’re talking local business support, getting someone to just like your Facebook page, or get businesses to simply followup, it just isn't done right now. Yet it is without doubt the simplest and fastest way to build any businesses. But is the challenge now, that we talk less and less to people and that the absolute last thing we want to do is talk to a potential or existing customer, even if it was to ask something as simple as, how was that "thing" you bought last week? Happy with it? If it can’t be done online, through text, or email, will it just not happen?
There was a lot of talk about pivoting over the last few months, but forget that, how about just get back to doing what we all used to do once. Give customers an experience, make them feel great about dealing with you, followup and just engage with value something.
Changing the way we engage and followup with prospects, customers and long term clients is easy and the simplest way to grow any business. Increase client numbers, frequency and average spend by only 10% each, and you've grown the business by 133%! But don't know the data/numbers, who your clients are or attempt to engage even a little better and nothing changes.
We need a "movement", or a "focus". Start engaging better, with everyone. Don't and most businesses only have one thing to really differentiate on. And that’s price; and good luck with that!
Mybusinessnow and the Business360 program, focus on a number of key drivers that grow any business, one of them is ServiceXperience. To find out how engagement can grow any business and get a free copy of ServiceXperience360; how to get customers coming back again and again. Just click on the link. https://form.jotform.co/90847238322863
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