Friday, March 25, 2005

Are You Sitting On A Hidden Goldmine?

Keep In Touch
I'm a great believer in keeping in touch with customers, potential customers and potential distributors. Repeated contact hugely increases your chances of making a sale or recruiting a distributor - it's one of the reasons why I use an autoresponder as a key part in my distributor recruitment system, it boosts my return rate and is semi-automatic.

However more traditional methods of communication, such as the phone or a well written letter, can also yield excellent results and you should use these also. They can be especially effective when used on two often overlooked groups:


  1. Your existing customers.
  2. People who have had a look and said no (for now).
Existing Customers
Your existing customers are a hidden goldmine. They have already demonstrated that they are receptive to the discount club concept and keen to save money. They might very well take another service and increase your CVC each month. On the other hand, they might be happy with what they've got - but they may give you a referral.

In fact, if you think about it, you may be more likely to get referrals this way. You should certainly ask for referrals every time you sign up a new customer - but don't be too surprised if some customers are a bit reticent to provide these. They may need to actually go through the process of changing over their supplier and trying the service out before they are 100% happy to refer their friends and family to you.

However, once they have made the changeover and seen that the savings are real and significant, they will be much more comfortable to either provide you with referrals or to recommend T+ to their personal contacts.

People Who Have Said No
You will hear and read the phrase "no for now" a lot in T+ - and it's true, many people who say no really do mean "no for now". But, in order to change them from a "no for now" into a "yes" you may need to provide them with a little help.

The best way to do this is to ask them again. Do this in an appropriate manner at the correct time and you won't annoy them. They may need just one more reason to make the change - if you can provide this then you might just get a new customer.

When To Communicate?
That's an easy question to answer - when you have something to say. Ideally when you have something new to offer them, but it could be at a particular time of year or after they've been a customer for a while.

  1. When a new product or service is introduced.
  2. When they've been a customer for a while.
  3. At a particular time of year.

New products and services are great. They give you the ideal opportunity to communicate. Don't phone or write every time a new mobile handset is introduced (unless you know that your customer is mad to get that particular one of course) - but do keep your customers aware of any major new enhancements. Send them a new brochure and tariff booklet. They might throw it in the bin - but they might just as well pass it on to someone else. And always ask them for referrals - even if they have already given you some. At the very worst, an existing customer is much more likely to read through anything you send them than someone who doesn't know you from Adam.

For those who have looked at the UWDC and decided against it, then new products and services are great. Just give them a call or drop them a line and advise them that there is something that could offer them even greater savings than they had previously expected. It's a very genuine reason to communicate and few pople will be offended.

When you've had a new customer signed up for 3 or 4 months send them a letter to tell them that you hope they're enjoying their savings with the UWDC. If your local utility has recently raised their prices then mention that and congratulate them on their wise decison and overall sagacity. Ask them for referrals again - even if they already gave you some. Include a multi service booklet and an up to date tariff leaflet - it's possible that even if they don't give you a referral they may pass these on. Give them every opportunity to be a good salesperson for you.

Being Scottish, I tend to send out a few "Happy New Year" letters to my customers. It's very common here and, because the weather is invariably lousy and the gas and electricity suppliers have obligingly hiked their prices around this time of year, it gives me an opportunity to remind them of how clever they were to choose to join the UWDC.

If you are in a part of the country where you need to sober up before mid-February then don't worry - you could send them a letter on their birthday. The customer's date of birth is on their application form. You might also drop them a line if there are headlines on the news or in the papers about price rises. You should always be looking for (legitimate) reasons to communicate.


Something to Think About

HPLR is a major enhancement. Send your existing customers and your "no for nows" an update on the new HPLR service. It's a major change and T+ are unique in being able to provide line rental. The convenience of a single bill is a huge benfit to many customers - some of them even see this as the main advantage with the savings being an extra bonus.

Do you have any "energy only" customers? Update them on HPLR.

Send them a brochure so they can read it and then pass it on. Ask them for referrals.

Once you've done that look for the next opportunity to communicate and do it all again.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Well done Hamish another insightfull and practical post kep them coming

Anonymous said...

rangers are crap and celtic will win the league