If like me, you’ve been coaching and consulting for a number of years, you would have a large bank of past clients.
And it’s quite possible that many of those past clients have been somewhat if not severely, impacted by the pandemic.
If you had success with those customers in the past, I would suspect that if you reached out to them, they’d welcome you back in a heartbeat.
In fact, this has happened to me several times since clocking over into 2021.
That being the case, you have to ask yourself which seems easier …
Convincing complete strangers to do business with you or bring back past clients.
People who already know, like and trust you?
We all know that acquiring new customers is like an addiction for the business owner.
Marketing messages today seem to exist for only one purpose, and that is to pull in new customers.
However, if you’ve been around for a while and you have many happy and satisfied customers who’ve done business with you previously …
You can experience serious business growth by target marketing to those customers.
The sure-fire way to increase sales and profits is bringing back past clients
Whenever I commence working with a new client, the first thing I recommend they do …
Is to reach out and renew their relationships with previous and existing customers, before seeking to onboard new ones.
The reason being it’s a sure-fire way to increase sales and make more money at lightning speed.
We’re all familiar with the saying that it’s five times easier (and far less expensive) to sell to an existing client than it is to find a new one.
And the reason why?
Because past clients have already dipped their toe in the water and they know it’s safe to jump straight in.
Let’s face it …
Fear and a lack of trust are the primary reasons why prospects don’t become clients.
And those obstacles are the most challenging things to overcome when you are trying to onboard new clients.
So, why do so many businesses invest their time, money and effort into finding a prospect, then developing them into a client, and then not follow through by building a solid ongoing relationship?
Beats me.
Business success = never let a client forget about you!
You know it doesn’t take much effort to keep your customers happy and coming back to you again and again.
And when they do the profit margin is substantially higher because you’ve eliminated that
😨 START-UP KILLER: THE COST OF CUSTOMER ACQUISITION 😨
So, get back in touch with your previous clients.
In particular, those you’ve had no dealings with over the last six months or more.
Below are a few of my favourite strategies you can use to bring your clients back.
# Strategy 1 – Get back in touch
Just pick up the phone and give them a call, or send them an email, or shoot them a quick message through LinkedIn.
Let them know you value them as a client and that you would love to help them recover their lost revenue due to Covid.
# Strategy 2 – Create an irresistible offer
Give them a reason to come back by creating an incredible offer exclusively for your highly-valued past clients.
This could be as simple as new ways of bundling your existing products and services together or introducing new ones.
This alone will give you a reason to always be in touch.
# Strategy 3 – Say thank you
Most customers and clients wander off over time because they feel unappreciated.
Send them something as simple as a hand-written card to let them know you’re still thinking of them, and to say thanks for their valued custom.
One of the things I did during lockdown was to send my customers a coffee gift card they could redeem at the drive-through.
It’s no secret that I am partial to a conversation over a caramelised cappuccino, and this was my way of maintaining top of mind awareness when in-person meetups weren’t possible.
In Summary …
These are just a few simple ideas to get you started.
The key is to maintain regular contact with your customers.
And to continue to add value to them through the relationship you have established.
You’ve got to keep your eye on the ball in business.
Don’t let your customers go walkabout just because you didn’t take the time to show you care.
The secret to bringing back past clients is to not lose contact.
If you found this article interesting, here’s another you might like to check out: WHAT CUSTOMERS REALLY WANT