Once you get the sale, the job is far from over. You are only now at the true beginning of the process. Before the sale, all you have is a prospect. You don’t have a relationship to cultivate. Once a person buys a product or service from you, they have a few expectations and you have some expectations from them. They want you to be there to support what you sold. And you want them to become a brand ambassador and bring you repeat business. This is where the real work begins. And this is the secret to getting it done:
Make the Client Feel Like a Peer
One of the worst things about pharmacies is how the technicians are all in white coats on a raised platform looking down at the supplicants. No one wants to feel like a supplicant with hat in hand. People want to be involved in the process. Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff are starting to get the message and offer first class patient education technology. When patients feel like equal partners with their healthcare professionals, they become more involved with their health. The doctor doesn’t just make pronouncements from on high. When this happens, patients heal faster and feel better about their healthcare. They will return to the doctor who made them feel like a peer and not like a peon.
This is true for every profession. What a plumber or electrician should do is take the time to explain what went wrong and what it takes to fix it. They shouldn’t just treat the client like a paycheck. When the client is educated about what is going on, they feel empowered rather than belittled. Empowered clients return to the person who empowered them.
Proper Business Email Is Not Spam
If you don’t know the difference between business email and spam, stop all email efforts right now until you do. Did you know that spam is illegal? You already know it is unethical because you use a spam blocker to stop it on your computer. Companies that use spam as a marketing tool are likely using illegal robocalls as well. You do not want to be associated with such bottom feeders. Do better.
- Stop acting like everyone who gives you their email address wants to hear from you. There is a good chance you have some policy or dark pattern that forced them to submit their email address.
- When a person makes a purchase, follow it up quickly so that they still remember buying something from you.
- When you follow up, do so with sincere thanks. Only after that should you offer them 10% off certain items if they visit you again in the next month. Then end with another expression of gratitude.
- Make unsubscribing a single click and honor it immediately.
- Never sell or share that customer information.
Make Returns Hassle-Free
This might sound funny. But it is very true: When a person returns an item to your store for a refund, they are a repeat customer because they came back. Grant it, they came back to return an item and not buy one. But they did come back. They have a lot of stress over that return, especially since they lost the receipt. Make them feel at ease and let them leave a winner. It is almost certain they will return yet again, this time, to spend even more money. Get product returns right and you won’t have to worry about repeat business.
When you transform your clients into peers, treat their email and phone line with respect, and ensure many happy returns, you are superserving your customers. At the end of the day, that is how you win reliable and profitable repeat business.