{"id":52111,"date":"2017-06-09t05:01:03","date_gmt":"2017-06-09t09:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=52111"},"modified":"2018-09-05t21:05:03","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06t01:05:03","slug":"use-client-touch-plans-stay-touch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2017\/06\/09\/use-client-touch-plans-stay-touch\/","title":{"rendered":"how to use client ‘touch plans’ to stay in touch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"businesswoman<\/a>bonus: three sample plans plus 31 quick ideas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by sandi leyva<\/i><\/p>\n

are your current clients happy? or are they on the verge of leaving you?<\/p>\n

more small firm growth strategies:<\/b> create your marketing plan<\/a> | how to determine your ideal client<\/a> | clients need advisory services more than they know<\/a> | 10 tips for more energy <\/a>| marketing vs. sales and how to plunge in<\/a> | when you should answer questions for free<\/a>
\n\"goprocpa.com\"exclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

if you don’t know, that’s a bad sign! if you haven\u2019t asked your clients how you\u2019re<\/em> doing (not how they\u2019re<\/em> doing), it\u2019s likely you have unhappy clients without even knowing it.<\/p>\n

please note: if you are starting or restarting your business, you can still start this idea on the few clients you have now. if you have lost a large number of your clients, you may want to try to reconnect and let them know what you\u2019re doing, so use these ideas in that manner.<\/p>\n

if you\u2019re guilty of reaching out to clients once a year or if you never reach back out to clients you have completed work for, then you\u2019re likely losing more opportunities than you should be. they\u2019re simply forgetting about you, and you\u2019re leaving money on the table and costing yourself more pain in the marketing department, having to replace those clients.<\/p>\n

the number one complaint of accounting firm clients is that the accountant does not communicate with the client often enough. it\u2019s been that way for years. you would think we accountants would change, but here\u2019s the problem: we often feel we\u2019re bugging the client if we reach out, so we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

if we could only learn that most clients want the extra interaction, then we would all have less client attrition in our firms.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

you might also have the best of intentions, but never get around to it. you may truly have a time problem, but more than likely you\u2019re not getting to it because of that feeling of \u201cbugging the client,\u201d which is truly hard to shake. you almost have to close your eyes and do it anyway.<\/p>\n

in order to turn things around and stop leaving money on the table, you\u2019ll need to recognize if there are any mindset issues or feelings stopping you from action so that you can fix it. perhaps the answer is to put some automated systems in place to avoid the persistent procrastination.<\/p>\n

trust must be present to create the client relationship that sticks. it\u2019s easier to maintain trust\u00a0than to rebuild it, and staying in touch with clients regularly is your insurance policy to keep both trust and client retention\u00a0high.<\/p>\n

a ‘client touch plan’ or client communication plan<\/h3>\n

a top business priority is to make sure we keep the clients we have. a large part of our marketing time should be devoted to strengthening and expanding the current client relationships we already have. and there\u2019s no way to better do that than to increase communications with them through an annual communications plan.<\/p>\n

as accountants, we tend to feel like we are bugging people when we reach out. but small business owners are not always as introverted as we are. they already trust\u00a0us, so it\u2019s ok for us to share our opinion, just say hi or even let them know of something new we are offering.<\/p>\n

your client communications plan should have some goals or outcomes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. make clients feel important<\/li>\n
  2. make them feel like they are listened to<\/li>\n
  3. make you memorable<\/li>\n
  4. provide service that they will remember positively for some time to come<\/li>\n
  5. make them feel like you are interested in them<\/li>\n
  6. keep your promises<\/li>\n
  7. make it clear what you can and cannot do for clients<\/li>\n
  8. handle any complaints immediately and thoroughly<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    don\u2019t worry; you don\u2019t have to take every client to lunch every week! instead, i suggest that you incorporate both personal and not-so-personal touches into your plan. it\u2019s ok to send a newsletter\u00a0to everyone, for example. but you also want to make time to pick up the phone once a year, or more often if the client is very important to you.<\/p>\n

    also, prospects may need to be warmed up. only 3 percent of sales occur in the first meeting, and a substantial majority (over 80 percent) of sales occur after five touches. you will definitely increase your conversion ratios by adding your prospects to a touch plan as well. in marketing, this is commonly called a drip campaign.<\/p>\n

    here are some ways to keep in touch with customers and prospects:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. newsletter, emailed or printed<\/li>\n
    2. quarterly mailing with a book or gift<\/li>\n
    3. special note<\/li>\n
    4. note at project completion<\/li>\n
    5. note welcoming them as new customer<\/li>\n
    6. thank you note<\/li>\n
    7. request for testimonial\u00a0(it\u2019s ok to ask them for things; people generally like helping other people out.)<\/li>\n
    8. birthday card<\/li>\n
    9. anniversary card (date you started working together)<\/li>\n
    10. cartoon<\/li>\n
    11. send a referral<\/li>\n
    12. share a case study<\/li>\n
    13. send a white paper<\/li>\n
    14. send a free report<\/li>\n
    15. share a news story about you<\/li>\n
    16. send an announcement about a new service or special offer<\/li>\n
    17. send them a news story about them<\/li>\n
    18. share an article\u00a0that made you think about them<\/li>\n
    19. invoice<\/li>\n
    20. email<\/li>\n
    21. phone call<\/li>\n
    22. free seminar<\/li>\n
    23. open house invitation<\/li>\n
    24. party invitation<\/li>\n
    25. go to an event together<\/li>\n
    26. send sports or entertainment event tickets<\/li>\n
    27. articles<\/li>\n
    28. free products<\/li>\n
    29. free promotional items<\/li>\n
    30. lunch or breakfast or coffee (this time is not billable, by the way)<\/li>\n
    31. spa certificate, flowers, chocolates, luxury items, gift basket<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      you’ve likely thought of other ideas as well.<\/p>\n

      here are some specific ideas i\u2019ve seen in practice:<\/p>\n