Keeping in Touch - Part I

A couple of weeks ago at a funeral, I met a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen for a while. "This is not an optimal way to get together," she remarked.

"I agree," I replied. "Let's set a time for lunch so that the next time we meet is under happy, not sad, circumstances."

"Good idea," she responded as we walked into the room to sit down for the service.

Unfortunately, we have not set that lunch date yet.

I remembered this incident today as I was scrolling through my past e-mails. I was suddenly struck by how keeping in touch with friends is similar to keeping in touch with customers. Yes, I realize that your customers are not necessarily your friends, although some might fall into that category. Many of mine do.

However, the point is the same. In order to maintain friendships, you must make the effort to keep in touch with your friends via some sort of communication, whether telephone, e-mail, letter, or lunch. It's the same with your customers. To retain their business, you must make the effort to keep in touch with them.

Why?

We all think that we are unforgettable. If we have done business with a customer once, served the customer well, and received feedback that the customer was happy, we think that we are set for future business with that customer. We think that our good service had an indelible imprint on the customer which will never disappear and to which the customer will always respond.

That's not the way the real world works. In reality, the customer does business with you, is satisfied, and goes on with life. Some time in the future, whether the next day, the next week, the next month, or the next year, another opportunity arises when the customer could do business with you again. Does the customer contact you?

Maybe, maybe not. Whether the customer contacts you or not depends on your position in the customer's mind. The last time that you had contact with the customer, you had a favorable and, thus, a high position in the customer's mind. Since that time, however, many things could have happened. Your customer may have been exposed to another business which offers what you offer. Your customer may have had a friend or colleague recommend another business which offers what you offer. Your customer may have had a change in what your customer wants, and, not knowing that you can fulfill that want, your customer goes to another business which says it can. As a result, your position in your customer's mind may have changed. You may have slipped from first position to third, fourth, or last. In fact, you may have slipped off the ladder in your customer's mind altogether. Your customer may not even think of contacting you.

All of this happened not as a result of your past interaction with the customer but due to the position of your business in the customer's mind.

Positions are fluid and subject to change because your customer is busy. In this busyness, your customer grabs the first business that comes to mind for a particular want. Just like you and me, your customer is bombarded everyday with messages and other opportunities. These give your customer lots of choices and chances to change which business occupies a position in his or her mind. The best way to achieve a position in your customer's mind is to have conducted business with him or her and left your customer satisfied. Realize, however, that this position is not guaranteed to stay yours forever.

Once you have achieved a position, you only retain it by keeping in touch.

Watch next week for Keeping in Touch Part II.