The New Year always bring about change, renewed resolutions
and the feeling of starting over. So
No more sales letters. No more slick newsletters, email
blasts or fancy event
invitations. The client would no longer be privy to your creative genius or
amazing sales offers. Nada. It’s over,
and there’s nothing left to say.
Of course, who doesn’t re-evaluate client relations at the
beginning of every year? Truth be told,
I’ve had a few clients throughout the years who were such a pain
to deal with that I have personally felt justified in terminating the
relationships and giving them the silent treatment – sometimes not even waiting
until the beginning of the year. So I understood my client’s position.
And when your company decides to sever the connection with
the client from hell, usually it’s because things are dysfunctional or toxic –
or worst yet, you’re losing money or your creative mojo. These are circumstances
when stopping all communication is permitted. In those cases, it’s better to
rip off the Band-Aid, end things abruptly, and not ever look back.
As marketers, it is
important that we speak to all our stakeholders on a consistent basis. This includes prospects, past clients,
end-users, vendors, suppliers, even industry influencers. True, individual marketing campaigns require creating
tailored marketing messages aimed at different audiences. But the extra effort
is worth it.
But is it good business etiquette or even a smart use of
time to continue to flaunt your value proposition in a customer’s face once
it’s over? Well, as any woman will tell you, seeing her ex when she looks
fabulous on the arm of another man, is almost euphoric. However, ultimately this little game of “see what you’re
missing” does nothing for her unless she wants him back.
You’ll need to decide if you ever
want to work with this particular
customer again.
Conversely, at some point during our tenure, we’ve all had a client dump us. Whether we think it is
warranted or not, the client simply says “no thanks” to our offer. Usually,
when that happens, my first inclination is to say, goodbye, good riddance, and
I’m no longer interested in a dialogue with you either. Hmph!
However, when I do that, I pass up an opportunity to analyze
why things went wrong or understand where I can make improvements. More
importantly, when we stop marketing to or communicating with a customer or
stakeholder, we impede their path back to us. Why? Because people often have buyer’s remorse, which means it’s never over
until it’s over.
Most of us have experienced buyer’s remorse, especially when
it’s a costly purchase or when we have a major switch in brands. We have
feelings of guilt, regret or second
thoughts – all stemming from the psychology of conflicting thoughts or
cognitive dissonance. If you’re like me, not only do you sometimes regret your
choice, but wish you could just press the reset
button and put things back the way they were.
Many clients who have “let you go” many times wish they
could take you back.
In the case of ‘greener
grass’ regret, you want to ensure you
provide a worn brown path of return to you. Your continued communication allows
past clients to save face, forgive misunderstandings, correct mistakes – and of
course, it gives them time to miss you. This path is easier for customers to find when
you remain top of mind and continue to demonstrate value even when the
relationship is over.
In other words, maintaining communications is important to
both you and your past client.
Naturally, you don’t want to bombard a customer fresh from a
break up (especially if the client feels wounded or betrayed) with a barrage of
self-promoting messages. It’s probably wise to wait
at least 90-days before you reach out with your first non-sales message. But
without question, you should stay in
touch.
Here’s how:
Start by asking for feedback – conduct a brief survey to
learn more about why the relationship went south. Again, this is assuming you
want to re-engage. Be sure to clearly articulate that you realize that they are
no longer a client and that your communication was
not sent in error, but is one of genuine curiosity.
Next, begin a specialized “woo” campaign with a series of
slow, soft touches. Maybe send a copy of your newsletter, email a relevant
content marketing article or link to a white paper. The point is to demonstrate
your value and woo
the client back with non-sales collateral.
Finally, never assume that past clients are not interested
in your message or that they won’t refer business – even if it appears things
didn’t work out between you. Let them
tell you they no longer want to hear from you.
In today’s global business environment, we are all
ultimately connected. Yesterday’s stakeholders (including vendors, suppliers and influencers) are tomorrow’s clients
or at a minimum they can be evangelists for
new business. A stakeholder who perhaps loved your service or product, but
might have been overruled in an earlier
decision-making process, could seek you out at a later time. Your name could
come up in an entirely unrelated conversation because of your holiday eCard. Or
a simple social media post could be shared and seen by a potential client
outside your sphere of influence.
And it goes without saying that current customers should be
recommending you. If they are not, you are either not providing a strong
referral channel to make it easy for them to talk about you or the client is
not crazy in love with you or your service.
So in 2017, if your business is planning to break up with a
client or stakeholder, remember, marketing to past customers, is smart and requires
a little finesse. Keep in mind that it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
