My company celebrates Valentine’s Day once a month. Every month.
We do. And it’s simple. Once a month I send a box of Godiva chocolates to a current client with a note that thanks them for being a client. And then I pick out another client and schedule a reminder to send them a box of clients the following month. And so on and so on. It costs me $25 a month. And I always get some love back. Who doesn’t love Godiva chocolates??
People in long term relationships know this. We don’t wait until Valentine’s Day to tell our significant other that we love them. We say it and live it throughout the year. And the same goes for your customers. Don’t wait until Valentine’s Day to show your love. If you do then you’re making an enormous mistake. Instead, show them your love throughout the year. And use your CRM system to do this.
How do you show your love?
You use your CRM system to schedule pro-active tasks. When a product gets shipped make sure to have a task scheduled to follow-up and make sure your customer is happy. When a service problem is reported, make sure you have a task to confirm that the issue was resolved. Create alerts to remind you if a problem has been open too long. Respond to requests quickly. When a client wants you to “check back in a few months” on a question, don’t forget to do that. And when you sell something to a client schedule a follow-up to suggest other items that you sell or services you provide that could enhance their original purchase. People feel loved when they get attention.
You use your CRM system to connect your community. It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day to show some love to your partners. Russ, a roofing client of mine, always sends his work crews to jobs with a checklist of things to look at that have nothing to do with roofing – they walk around a customer’s property looking for any potential plumbing, electrical, landscaping or masonry problems. And then they refer the work their partners after getting the customers’ permission. Russ doesn’t ask for a referral fee. He just asks for some love back. To Russ, love is…ahem…leads. These relationships are all tracked in his CRM system where he has a database of experts for any problem and who’s been referred to who. His customers love him for looking out for them. And a few of his partners have offered to kiss him on the mouth for the leads they’ve received. Thankfully, Russ always declines. I think we can all agree that there’s a limit to love.
You use your CRM system to build data about your community. Every year I get a birthday card from a sushi restaurant I go to. A sushi restaurant! I also get birthday cards from my insurance agent, my financial planner and my Aunt Jen who’s in her 90’s and still puts a $5 dollar inside the envelope. With the exception of my aunt, these businesses track my activity in their CRM systems. Sadly, I get no birthday cards from any of my three kids – just tuition bills. But I still love them anyway. Well…most of the time. Birthdays and anniversary dates are simple to track in your CRM system. And each month you can send out cards to a list you print (or export to a mailing service).
OK, OK, do a little Valentine’s Day Marketing. Hopefully your database is in good shape – emails that are working and opt-in, reliable lists, correctly spelled names and addresses. So sure, go ahead, throw your dignity aside and do some shameless Valentine’s Day marketing. Send out a mass email to your customer list expressing your love and offering a discount or two. Create a nice postcard with a picture of you dressed as an angel wearing nothing but a diaper and a harp and send it through a mailing house to a list you’ve exported from your CRM system. Run a special contest on Facebook or Twitter and bring these engagements into your CRM system for future tracking. Do a Valentines’ Day promotional ad or online advertising and as each person is directed to your website have a web form setup for them to fill in which can be automatically captured in your CRM system for follow-up and marketing. Oh, and that angel picture? Forget that idea…it’s probably not a good one.
Yeah, Valentine’s Day is lovely. But if you want to really step it up a notch, just use your CRM system to show your love throughout the year.
A CRM system is nothing more than a database. And nowadays, that database is more than likely in the cloud. So instead of everyone having their own individual list of contacts in their email.
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a huge variety of verticals. Learn about all of Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
About the Author: Gene Marks is a small business owner, technology expert, author and columnist. He writes regularly for leading US media outlets such as The New York Times, Forbes, Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur. He has authored five books on business management and appears regularly on Fox News, Fox Business, MSNBC and CNBC. Gene runs a ten-person CRM and technology consulting firm outside of Philadelphia. Learn more at genemarks.com
