The Magic Of Networking
By Robyn Henderson
Imagine
waving a magic wand and having every current and past customer re-use
your services in the next 60 days. In dollar terms, think how many thousands
this would be worth to you. Many organisations these days forget that
much of their future business will ultimately come from their past clients.
These clients already know how good their product or service was and hopefully
still is.
Turn Customers into Advocates
One of the keys to growing a business is turning
customers into advocates. Customers buy once, clients buy twice and advocates
do your selling for you. Rather than spending all your advertising budget
and energy strictly looking for new business, why not consider investing
50% of your advertising dollars and energy on current and past customers
and only 50% on new business. This investment in past clients will encourage
them to buy the second time. Ian Kennedy and Bryce Courteny tell us in
The Power of One to One that if you can get a customer to make
a second time purchase, they are 10 times more likely to make a third
time purchase and ultimately become your advocate.
Make Contact Every 90 Days
Advocates are your raving fans. We earn the
right to turn customers into advocates by exceeding their expectations.
Good customer service is not enough these days - that is the norm - everyone
is doing that. Turning customers into advocates is only the first step,
we then need to keep them as advocates by continuing to exceed their expectations.
Making contact every 90 days with your clients is critical to building
a good relationship.
That contact is not asking them for an order, but rather
doing something for them. This contact may be in the form of:
- a newspaper clipping (an article that you think may
interest them);
- a referral (actually referring business to your client
rather than just expecting the business to always be one-way);
- a thank you card (thanks for your business, your time,
your referral);
- a birthday or Christmas card (although birthday cards
are frowned upon in some professions, most clients appreciate your thoughtfulness);
or
- invitations to networking functions (great way of
showing how much you care).
Any of the above ideas gives your client a clear indication
that you value them. Eighty per cent of the population doesn''t get recognition
on the job or works for a boss who constantly catches them doing something
wrong and rarely catches them doing something right. In addition, 50%
of the small business owner/operators are constantly asked by their families
"When are you going to get a real job?" Recognition is critical to 99%
of the population and it is one of the easiest things for us to give.
Prior to the Melbourne Cup last year, I spoke to a group
of bankers in the Victorian country. I suggested to them, that on Melbourne
Cup morning, they phone their top 24 clients and tell them they have just
run a sweep and that client''s horse is ______. If ________ comes first,
the prize is dinner for two at a good restaurant, _____ comes second,
flowers and chocolates, _________ comes third, champagne. Of course there
would be no charge to the clients. Well, these bankers looked at me like
I had four heads and was speaking a foreign language. Because I was suggesting
some non-traditional banking ideas, they found it very hard to take these
ideas on board.
Two bankers agreed to try the sweep idea. Their feedback
was quite amazing. Not only did they exceed people''s expectations on Melbourne
Cup day, but they also had a lot of fun. Months later, the clients whose
horses did not run a place, were still talking about it!
Unlock the Magic of Networking
Giving recognition to your customers is one
of the keys to unlocking the magic of networking in your business. By
earning the right to gain repeat business, we not only grow our business,
we also turn our customers into advocates.
Networking accounts for more than 75% of business happening
in the marketplace. Those organisations foolish enough to believe they
can continue to sell 1980''s style rather than network and build relationships,
may need a real magic wand to survive in the next twelve months.
Happy networking.
Robyn Henderson is an author, publisher
and international business educator. She travels throughout Australia,
New Zealand and Asia showing companies how to double their customer base
through effective networking. Her website is www.networkingtowin.com.au
and she can be contacted on inetwork@ozemail.com.au
