The holiday hustle and bustle is now over and it is already the end of January. Most companies spent most of November and December searching for the perfect holiday cards and or gifts that best represent their company and its employees. Although this is a nice gesture, the mistake that most companies make is that they stop there. Separate yourself from the companies that generally stop all correspondence after the holidays and follow these 4 easy steps to maintaining that holiday season relationship year round.
First Quarter: Send all of your customers a newsletter informing them of your successes from the previous calendar year, an event that took place in your city, an article regarding the industry that you are in, maybe a funny anecdote or two and most importantly goals for the New Year and the strategies of how you are going achieve them. Your customers are counting on your success just as much as you are counting on theirs. They want to know that you will be there providing a great service for years to come. The newsletter should be a basic 2-4 pages, no longer. You do not want to bore the customer, but want to keep them interested in your business enough to spark conversation.
Second Quarter: Send your customers a promotional item with your company name and logo on it. Inexpensive useful, everyday items can be sent, and used by your customers on a daily basis. This will keep your name and logo in front of your customers at all times. Pens, pencils, letter openers and scratch pads of paper are perfect examples of promotional items that customers or clients could use every day all year round. The items will not only keep your name and logo in front of them, but also anyone who walks by or is in contact with them will get a look.
Third Quarter: Keep it fun! This is the perfect time of year to play a game and win a prize. Send your customers a word game, a trivia game, football season will just be getting started, send a Monday night pick'em game for the entire season and give the prize away at the end of the season. This will keep your customers involved and more importantly having fun with your name associated to it.
Fourth Quarter: This is the time to send your best holiday card and or gift. At this point you will no longer just be another card on the wall or gift in the next company give away. Having formed an outstanding relationship beyond the great service that you provide will give your card and or gift a new meaning. It will not be just another vendor sending a once a year forced correspondence, it will actually be appreciated and recognized.
Follow these simple quarterly examples of correspondence and witness the lines of communication reach a whole new level. Customers will be calling you looking for advice and suggestions. Retention will be at an all time high, and sales people can actively seek new customers without worrying about losing the existing customers.
