Think about this for a moment: what do you think of an alleged friend who only calls you when they need something? You probably don’t think very highly of them, do you? Well, this kind of thing translates over into the business world.
When you only contact customers when you need a sale, you erode the rapport and trust you’ve built. People start to think you only like them because they’re giving you money. Even if you’re not a cruel and heartless businessperson, you come off as one. What you need to do is learn how to forge deep, meaningful relationships that naturally lead to more deals.
Ask Them To Follow You On Facebook, Twitter, or to Share Your Page
Once someone has bought from you, or signed up to your email list, they’re at least a little committed. Asking them to follow you on Facebook or Twitter isn’t going to look like a request from left field. This is your chance, and theirs, to get to know you better. Most people, if they liked you enough to buy from you, will at least follow you on social media.
Be prepared for a traffic blitz with this one. Why? Because once someone “likes” your fan page, other people in that person’s friend feed will know and may just come to check you out. If your host doesn’t have “on-the-fly” bandwidth scalability hunt for one that does using a site like www.VirtualHosting.com. You’ll need it.
Invite Them To A Webinar
If you got their email address, and they’re “hot” – they have a problem that needs to be solved right now – asking them to join you for an upcoming webinar isn’t strange. It’s helpful. Let’s say you’ve prerecorded a webinar. It’s on a “loop” and you can automate the process of getting people to sign up and listen to it. It moves you further into the “trusted adviser” or “trusted friend” zone with your prospect – very helpful if the customer hasn’t yet purchased anything from you.
Emails are nice. Hearing the person’s voice is better.
Give Them a Coupon
A coupon is a great way to entice people to buy from you again once they’ve already purchased something. But, it’s also a great way to get people to buy from you for the first time. If you’re a company that sells a tangible product, you could also give away a free sample. It’s radical. Not many companies do that kind of thing anymore, but what a way to win someone over.
In a world that’s afraid to give away anything that’s valuable, you’ll stick out in a good way.
Send Them To A “What To Do Next” Page
After someone signs up for your email list, they are often wondering “OK, what do I do now?” Of course, they may just go back to their email and check to see if you’ve sent them anything. That’s not a terrible way to handle the situation, but it’s not the greatest.
Ideally, you’ll keep them there on the page, and encourage them to keep reading. Get them engaged. Get them reading about you. Get them to like you. Then, remind them that they have an email waiting for them – an email from you.
Ask Them To Subscribe To A Newsletter
If you just asked them to sign up to an email list, it’s usually a bad idea to then ask them to join a separate newsletter list. However, if they’ve purchased something from you, and they’re not on your list, ask them. If they liked you enough to do business with you, they will probably want to hear from you again.
Roberta Joyce is a web marketing whiz. With a great understanding of today’s consumers and a love for innovation and communication, she often blogs about the trends and tricks to successful ecommerce in the current marketplace.
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