Search Results for: blog nurturing and cultivating customers

We Want Our Customers and Clients to Have Consistent Experiences

I wrote earlier today about ways to standardize our home business operations. My focus was on how it can make our own work days go smoother and keep us organized and relatively stress-free. Additionally, standardizing our home business operations can also contribute to our clients and customers experiencing consistency with us and consistency in a business operation can be a positive thing. Our customers and clients need to know what to expect from us–they have a right to expect a certain level of customer service, returned calls and e-mails in a reasonable time frame, etc. If we are all over … Continue reading →

Educate Your Customers

Thinking about prospects and customers ONLY as potential sales and dollar signs can get you in to trouble with your target market. Not that you aren’t in business to make money, but customers can truly sense if you are just in it for the dough. Think of ways you can share information and educate your customers and you’ll do a much better job of connecting. Have you ever heard someone say something like, “I really like working with Bob, he knows his stuff!” Or “I didn’t know there was so much to understand about tires.” Consumers want to feel confident … Continue reading →

It’s Going to Take More Than One Contact to Cultivate Customers

A big part of my professional background is in fundraising and arts marketing. This means that I’ve been trained and had lots of experience with the reality that it takes more than one “touch” or contact with an individual before they make a donation, purchase a ticket or, in most cases, utilize a product or service. It might help to keep in mind that it’s going to take more than once, in order to “reel in” a potential customer or client. Now it may seem like people come to you from out of the blue to make purchases or utilize … Continue reading →

How Long Has it Been Since You Thanked Your Customers or Clients?

I’ve written before about the importance of cultivating and nurturing clients. Drawing on my years of experience working in nonprofit public relations and fund raising, I thought it might be useful to touch on the importance of saying “Thank You” to our customers and clients. What the experts say is true, you can really never say “thank you” enough! There are so many ways to show your appreciation and say “thank you” to a customer or client. There is always the brief “thank you” that comes with the close of a conversation or sale—but if you really want to create … Continue reading →

Taking Time to Confirm and Clarify

I’m not promising that confirming and clarifying will alleviate all your business communication issues, but I do think that a great deal can be prevented and anticipated by taking the time to go over agreements, sales slips, contracts and even verbal arrangements with clients and customers. In my mind, it doesn’t matter if you sound overly thorough or even a little “slow”–taking the time to go over everything carefully can prevent some major headaches down the line. Just so you know, I am not by nature a very careful communicator. Since I can remember things fairly decently and I tend … Continue reading →

Nurturing and Cultivating Customers

I am not currently really in a sales business, but I have very strong background in development and fundraising for nonprofit organizations. Raising money is another form of sales and definitely requires the development of some sales skills. But, the one lesson a person learns in fundraising is that it’s not about the one-time donation or “sale”–its far more important to create donors and cultivate people over the long haul. I think this applies to any sort of business as well. Sometimes, making a sale can be in direct conflict with building long-term, loyal customers. It takes some foresight to … Continue reading →

Will You Take Any Clients or Wait for Loyal Clients?

There are several different ways to go about building a customer base for your product and services, but two main camps are the “taken anyone and everyone” camp and the “nurture and build loyal customers” camp. Figuring out which one is best for you and your business will depend on what sort of industry you are in, as well as what your personality and capacity for marketing and networking is. Look at it this way; you are going to put energy into attracting new customers and clients regardless—but it takes a lot of energy and resources to court a client. … Continue reading →

Why I LOVE it When People Share Their Opinions

It seems to have become somewhat politically incorrect or unpopular for people to share their opinions about popular culture, politics, personal interests, etc. We all try to make sure that we are not being offensive or setting people off. But, as a business person, I actually LOVE it when people share their personal opinions and ideas about things—it gives me insight into who they really are and helps me figure out if my services are a good fit, as well as get some information as to how I can really interact with them. I guess you could say that I … Continue reading →

Make the Most of Every Customer Contact

Perhaps it is an overstatement to say that every contact with a customer, client or prospect is a golden opportunity. Chances are, that might be a little dramatic, not to mention add some pressure where probably none of us needs it. But, we should still keep in mind that every contact we have with a customer or prospect really is a chance to make a good and lasting impression and represent our business in some way. I’m not just talking about personal or face-to-face contact either. Each time you send an e-mail or leave a voice mail message or send … Continue reading →

Ways to Encourage a Decision

Salespeople often get a bad rap. We hear terms like “close a sale” and we might cringe at the thought of a pushy salesperson trying to cram us into making a purchase that we don’t need, don’t want, or can’t afford. But, the reality is that in our own home businesses, we often need to encourage clients or customers to make a decision about purchasing our products or services. So, even if you don’t want to think of yourself as a salesperson, you will still need to learn some skills for encouraging others to make a decision about your business. … Continue reading →