This may seem like incredibly simple advice–but I am surprised at how often people sight “marketing to prospects” as one of those areas that needs to improve in their small businesses. We know that we need to do outreach and pay attention to marketing if we are going to build healthy home-based businesses, but we drag our feet. Or we get so caught up in the “every day” or going after the big sales, that we forget to nurture along our prospects. It might help if you set up a calendar and make it a priority to make regular, scheduled contact with prospective clients and/or customers.
Touching base does not mean that you need to be annoying or pushy. Trust that people will tell you if they don’t want to hear from you again and have faith that, as long as you aren’t being too aggressive or contacting them too often, they appreciate the fact that you are keeping them in mind. An example of overdoing it? I get e-mail, snail mail and phone calls from a certain mortgage lender that I met with two years ago. There probably isn’t three days that go by that I don’t get some sort of contact from her. Now, THAT to me is overdoing it. When I next need a mortgage lender, you can bet that I will NOT be working with that woman.
Now, on the other end of the scale, I appreciate the notes and coupons I get from a local bead store that I frequent. About once a month I get a newsletter and a little postcard with a coupon offer on the back. I am not an avid jewelry-maker and only tend to make holiday gifts and occasionally wander in to see if anything inspires me to make a necklace or some earrings, but I do appreciate being kept in the loop as a “customer” and I’m not tossing daily mail offerings in the recycling bin.
Find a way to make regular contact with your prospects–whether it is quarterly or monthly. It doesn’t need to be heavy-handed sales tactics. As a matter of fact, prospects will most likely respond to the occasional sharing of information or personal notes just letting them know that you are there should they get ready to make a purchase.
Also: Let Customers See and Touch Your Product
Make Ordering and Purchasing Easy