There are all sorts of reports, polls, and data on why customers leave a place of business, any business, due to poor service. Here’s one off the top of my head. We had a rather costly copy machine installed at our office a while back. We’ve never heard from anyone at the company. No thank you note. No nothing. Oh wait, we did get an invoice. And that’s just one item, one industry. By Nancy Friedman

Think Before You Answer

There are all sorts of reports, polls, and data on why customers leave a place of business, any business, due to poor service.

Here’s one off the top of my head. We had a rather costly copy machine installed at our office a while back. We’ve never heard from anyone at the company. No thank you note. No nothing. Oh wait, we did get an invoice. And that’s just one item, one industry. No follow-up. I don’t even recall what brand, or the name of who installed it. The entire process was nameless.

Here’s a three-point shortened version of a longer article I’ve written, on the Art and Science of Follow-Up After the Sale. It’s a start!

Plan to follow up. Make it a priority. Your organization has competitors with comparable prices and similar features. How do you get customers to come back or send you referrals? You need a strategy. Give them a reason!

After the sale “strategies.” Follow-up programs can be as creative or as ingenious as you make them. Consider it part of the marketing mix and allocate funds to accomplish the objective. Or consider the simplest, less costly way to follow up – a personal, handwritten thank you note. Most everyone does that on holidays; however, it’s so easy to get lost in the mix. Be clever. Celebrate the customer, not the holiday. Anytime. An unplanned hello or thank you phone call speaks volumes and is normally always appreciated. Customize, personalize and implement.

Complaints. Most industries have issues after the sale. It’s an unpleasant fact. We know negative word of mouth and negative social media is dangerous. And costly. Manage any issues immediately! Most customers won’t fight – they will switch to your competition. That makes you a little weaker and the competitor a little stronger.

Nancy Friedman

Nancy Friedman, the founder and chairman of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, is a popular keynote customer service speaker at franchise, corporate meetings and conferences around the country. She is now offering and specializing in Zoom programs and her fun webinars. nancyfriedman.com, nancy@telephonedoctor.com, 314-291-1012.