Sharon's Marketing Monthly      

Insightful ideas for maximizing your message

Stay in touch

It's the 3rd day of the New Year, and we've all had time to make-and break-some resolutions. But here's one you can easily stick with to improve your marketing. This year, resolve to stay in touch.

To illustrate how you can miss out on potential business if you don't stay in touch, consider this: I live in a 77-year-old fixer up with lots of what kind people call "charm." In the 4½ years I've lived there, a lot of contractors have come and gone. I've hired roofers, painters, plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, sheetrock guys, wallpaper hangers, a custom cabinetmaker, cement people and even a man with an assortment of bulldozers. In addition to all those who have done actual work, I've had quotes from landscapers, drapery companies and assorted other trades people.

Now, out of all those people who have worked in and on my house or given me estimates to do so, how many do you think have stayed in touch?

If a Christmas card counts, one.

"So what?" you're thinking. They did their work; they're done. But I will need their services again. I will need more cement poured in the driveway. I will need more painting. I already called a new roofer because I needed a roof on my office, but couldn't find the name of the roofer who did the garage. I've yet to start on the bathroom, and you know a house wired with knob and tube will require repeat visits from an electrician. Admittedly the house is being done in stages, so I don't have an immediate need (or budget!) for all of these services. But the point is: I will have a need. And I won't remember who any of these people were and I'll be calling someone new as each job comes up. That's lost revenue for them all.

Now what does my "charming" money pit have to do with your business? This: We all need to stay in touch with our customers because chances are good that they will:

1. Need your service or product again in the future

2. Be asked for a referral for a company that does what you do

3. Need another service or product that they don't yet know you offer

Staying in touch doesn't require effort as much as a change in mindset. Holiday cards are better than nothing, but consider an e-newsletter or mailing periodic postcards with product updates. Use your email or mailing list to promote seasonal specials. Do a friendly letter with helpful hints for using your product. Anything is better than nothing when it comes to staying in touch.

Until next month!

This month's challenge

Think of one simple way to stay in touch with your customers, put it on your task list and make it a habit.

And if you like what you read and know someone else who could use some monthly marketing insight, forward this to a friend!

Recommended read for January

Malcolm Gladwell has a new book coming out this month, so I recommend reading his last book, "The Tipping Point," before the new one hits bookstore shelves. Gladwell's study into what makes the behavior of a few become the behavior of the masses is a fascinating social study, and a great thought-provoker for marketers.

(Have a marketing book you love? Feel free to recommend your favorites.)

Who is Sharon?

Sharon is the president of We Know Words, a sustainable marketing communications firm helping you connect with your past, present and potential customers. Being a woman of many opinions and words, she writes the Marketing Monthly as a way to have her say. Besides, she loves newsletters.

What's up with the flower?

It's just us. Fresh, flourishing, cheerful...and it ties into our job: Helping clients grow their businesses through an effective mix of off- and on-line marketing. Besides, it's fun! Have you seen it plastered all over our Web site?