4 Tips to Rekindle Lost Business Relationships
By Andrew Patricio
November 11, 2015
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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By the small business content developers at BizLaunch.com.
Have your clients lost that loving feeling for your brand? If you have customers who haven’t bought from you in a while or who you’ve lost touch with, now is the time to rekindle that relationship, especially given that the biggest shopping day of the year is in a few weeks!
Here are four tips to help you reconnect and get those past customers buying from you again.
Tip 1: Send a Personalized Email
If you have a one-on-one type of relationship with your clients (like a consultant or business services provider), take time to look through your customer relationship management software and identify those customers who haven’t bought from you in 6-12 months.
Once you have this list, spend a little time investigating them online. First, make sure they’re still working at/running the business they were at previously. Look at their social media profiles to see what they’ve been up to.
Then, reach out via email. You want this to be a highly personalized email that shows you’ve paid attention to what they’ve been doing (maybe you congratulate them for the promotion you saw mentioned on LinkedIn) as well as check in to see if you can be of assistance. You’re not necessarily looking for a sale here, but rather to get that connection going again.
Tip 2: Make a Special Offer
If you don’t have a personal relationship with your customers, you can still get former customers back buying again. If you can sort your email contacts by those who haven’t bought in a while, make a list of them and then create an irresistible offer to entice them back.
You can even make the copy point to the fact that they haven’t bought from you in a while: saying something like “We miss you! Here’s a special discount to get you back” can do the job. Make the offer really good and better than your typical discounts; even if you lose a little profit by offering 35% off a product, that customer might get back into the habit of buying from you regularly, so you’ll make up that loss quickly.
Tip 3: Send a Holiday Gift
This time of year is a great time to show your appreciation for customers, past and present. If you have just a handful of clients, you can send hand-curated gifts based on their interests — or opt for something everyone will love, like holiday cookies or flowers.
If you have lots of clients, include a free gift with purchase or send another special offer via email to show your gratitude during the holiday season.
Tip 4: Send a Social Shout-Out
If you’re following your customers on social media (and you should, especially if you’re a B2B company), you can get their attention by interacting with them there. A simple share of their content or comment on their posts can be enough to remind them how great you are.
However you reconnect with past customers, the point is to get back on their radar and show them why they need to come back and buy from you again.
Have your clients lost that loving feeling for your brand? If you have customers who haven’t bought from you in a while or who you’ve lost touch with, now is the time to rekindle that relationship, especially given that the biggest shopping day of the year is in a few weeks!
Here are four tips to help you reconnect and get those past customers buying from you again.
Tip 1: Send a Personalized Email
If you have a one-on-one type of relationship with your clients (like a consultant or business services provider), take time to look through your customer relationship management software and identify those customers who haven’t bought from you in 6-12 months.
Once you have this list, spend a little time investigating them online. First, make sure they’re still working at/running the business they were at previously. Look at their social media profiles to see what they’ve been up to.
Then, reach out via email. You want this to be a highly personalized email that shows you’ve paid attention to what they’ve been doing (maybe you congratulate them for the promotion you saw mentioned on LinkedIn) as well as check in to see if you can be of assistance. You’re not necessarily looking for a sale here, but rather to get that connection going again.
Tip 2: Make a Special Offer
If you don’t have a personal relationship with your customers, you can still get former customers back buying again. If you can sort your email contacts by those who haven’t bought in a while, make a list of them and then create an irresistible offer to entice them back.
You can even make the copy point to the fact that they haven’t bought from you in a while: saying something like “We miss you! Here’s a special discount to get you back” can do the job. Make the offer really good and better than your typical discounts; even if you lose a little profit by offering 35% off a product, that customer might get back into the habit of buying from you regularly, so you’ll make up that loss quickly.
Tip 3: Send a Holiday Gift
This time of year is a great time to show your appreciation for customers, past and present. If you have just a handful of clients, you can send hand-curated gifts based on their interests — or opt for something everyone will love, like holiday cookies or flowers.
If you have lots of clients, include a free gift with purchase or send another special offer via email to show your gratitude during the holiday season.
Tip 4: Send a Social Shout-Out
If you’re following your customers on social media (and you should, especially if you’re a B2B company), you can get their attention by interacting with them there. A simple share of their content or comment on their posts can be enough to remind them how great you are.
However you reconnect with past customers, the point is to get back on their radar and show them why they need to come back and buy from you again.