The concept of follow-up means continuing a thread, leaving something open. In the context of sales, it is maintaining contact with a potential customer. It can be by phone, e-mail (e-mail follow-up) or other (e.g. face-to-face meetings). The key to the effectiveness of such activities, however, is the right choice of the time of contact - it cannot be done too often (so as not to be intrusive and not to discourage), nor too rarely (so that the customer does not forget about our services chinese overseas america phone number data or does not lose interest in them). Follow-up is often referred to as a reminder - done at the right time, it can bring real benefits. An example is a situation when a customer is approaching the end of a subscription contract - it is worth taking the first step and offering them another one before they look for other offers (or before our competitors contact them).
Why is follow-up so important?
Selling during a single phone call is usually not possible – especially if the subject of the offer is more expensive products/services or those that require long-term cooperation (usually in the B2B sector). The fact that this is a multi-stage process can be seen in the example of cold calling – a cold lead must be warmed up, i.e. a relationship must be built with a potential customer, providing them with information about the product/service that will convince them to buy. These are the most important goals of follow-up – building a relationship and providing information about the offer, as well as giving the potential customer time to convince themselves of it. Subsequent phone calls/meetings can serve to clarify doubts and answer questions.
Also read: How to write official emails? Effective cold mailing
By systematically building relationships, we have a greater chance of making a sale when the customer decides to buy, and when we also solve their problems and help them make the right decision, there is a greater chance that they will choose us.
It is also worth renewing contact with clients who have previously rejected our offer. Maybe cooperation with a competing company has failed or the client has expanded their business and is looking for partners to cooperate with? Even if they refuse now, they will probably remember us in the future. It may therefore happen that a client with whom we have managed to build a valuable relationship will contact us with a proposal of cooperation when the space for it appears.
Follow-up is finally an opportunity to obtain feedback on the offer – what customers think about our products, why they choose them or, on the contrary, why they are not interested in them. Have they encountered any problems while using the product/service? If so, with the right knowledge, the company can take care of fixing them (in the long run, this is a chance to increase sales).
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When to do follow-up?
It is difficult to indicate a universal, working in every situation time for renewing contact. Much depends on the specifics of the offer/product, customer preferences, or the segment in which the company operates (B2B, B2C). Follow-up can be effective in a situation when:
A customer who has purchased our product/service may soon need a new one – an example is the end of a subscription agreement. In such a situation, we can offer another one (as well as other complementary services on the basis of upselling or cross-selling).
There are certain situations in a client’s industry that may suggest they need our product/service. It’s worth knowing the problems and challenges of the client industries we work with.
In any other situation that allows you to move the customer relationship to the next stage of the sales funnel.
Read also: What is a ticket system and how does it improve customer service?
In conducting effective follow-up, it is helpful to end each conversation appropriately – one that announces the next stage of the entire process . If possible, it is worth planning the next step during the conversation – for example, setting a date for the next phone call or another form of contact (such as sending materials by email). This step should be specific – it is best to set a specific date and purpose for the next contact. This is the so-called anchoring, allowing for maintaining awareness of our services.
Effective follow-up – what else to remember?
It is worth knowing that in effectively maintaining contact with the customer, various types of tools that improve and automate contact with customers will be useful. For example,
CRM system – improving the efficiency of work with clients in many different aspects (from automatic selection of contacts, through creating notes during conversations, to analyzing their course).
A good database of contacts – which contains people potentially interested in the product/service and is created in accordance with applicable regulations (including GDPR). The ability to easily update it is also important.
Tools for efficiently recording contact status and updating it .
Tools for automatic dialing of calls or creation of e-mail sendings.
