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Is it time to check-in? Discovering new business from old clients


I recently ran into an old childhood friend while in the store. We were standing at the checkout and she was in front of me. I saw her first and was very hesitant to start up a conversation. I wondered if she remembered me or if she had seen me and decided that she didn’t want to acknowledge that we had known each other. Despite my concerns, she turned and saw me, smiled and struck up a conversation. It was so nice to check-in and find out how she was doing. While Facebook had already told me she was getting married soon I found out things like how she met her fiancé & some of the wedding-planning challenges she was facing. I left the grocery store wondering why we never kept in touch. We had been such good friends during our childhood, playing soccer together and attending the same high school. 

Then, my crazy inner-marketing geek set in.  Why is it that so many companies don’t check-in and strike up a conversation with old customers? And I’m not talking about a bulk email that goes out to thousands of customers but a call from someone I personally dealt with. Not a request for review or more business, but a call to check in and see how the product or service is treating me.  If I can reconnect with a friend from 10 years ago, maybe I can reconnect with past customers from 2, 3 or 4 years ago.   Maybe the customer is wondering if I remembered them.

So I put my plan in motion. I started reaching out to old customers. Checking in and seeing if they were okay amidst a pandemic. Many of them were struggling with the balancing act that is at home learning and work.  They told me about new hobbies discovered while locked up inside and then something wild happened; they started to ask me about how I am and how my family and work were going.

A few months go by and I get a call from one of those customers. They were able to return to the office and in need of my services. They thought of me right away. I was delighted. Another few weeks go by and I get a call from a former customer, then about a month, later another person calls. Businesses were opening and I was at the forefront of their mind because I took the time to check in on a personal level.

Due to the pandemic, most of us have spent the last year distancing ourselves socially from friends and family. This has also highlighted the need for personal contact and demonstrated the necessity and importance of human interactions.

People love people. If you have to give away your hard-earned savings, wouldn’t you want to give them to someone who you like? I know I do. I will wait a bit longer for a haircut to go to my hairdresser. She knows me, I know her. I have spent time with her daughter and husband. If I am going to spend $100 a month to be a fake blonde, I at least want the money to go to her.

Some may argue that business-to-business marketing is so much different than business-to-consumer marketing, and I couldn’t agree more. However, when it comes to fostering customer relationships, the sentiment remains. That became even more apparent in the pandemic when we saw businesses working together as teams. Industry leaders united to solve problems surrounding Covid-19 and companies began working together to find common grounds and resolutions that were mutually beneficial.

In my experience, the 1-on-1 conversation is a powerful business tool.  I’ve had major disputes defused through a phone call because the person on the other end can hear through my tone that I am trying to help them or that I understand what they are trying to say. I’ve been able to sell a product or a service to a business because I can effectively tell them how it would solve a particular problem they are having.  And now, I can say that I have also been able to spark interest and generate business by maintaining and nurturing an existing relationship with a simple phone call. 

-Kris

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

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