Halloween will soon arrive and ghosts and goblins are on our minds—and candy, too. All Hallows Eve (October 31), along with the Christian feast days of All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2) have got me thinking about bringing lapsed clients back from the great beyond and gently returning them to active status. While some clients give us only a one-off project, others are worth a steady, even if sometimes modest, stream of billable hours and as such, they are worth the comparatively small effort it takes to try and lure them back. Here are some statistics you’ll find persuasive:
1. It costs 5 times more to acquire a new client than it does to retain an existing one.
2. You have a 60% – 70% chance of selling to an existing client and only a 5% – 20% chance of selling to a prospect who has never done business with you.
3. Existing clients are 50% more likely to try your new product or service.
4. Existing clients on average spend 31% more than your newest clients.
So you see that we save time and money, as well as make more money, when we return to our lapsed clients. Surprisingly, only 18% of businesses have a defined client retention strategy, according to a recent marketing survey, but you now know that means money is being left on the table, something you cannot afford to do. Begin your client retention strategy as soon as you’re hired for a project. Shift your perspective—you haven’t just closed a sale, you’ve opened the door to a relationship.
Because marketing experts report that 89% of companies recognize that the client experience is a key factor in driving loyalty and retention, do your business a favor and devise a quick client satisfaction survey, maybe five or six questions, and get some post-project feedback. Clients always appreciate that you value their insights on how your organization does business. You might receive information that will make your business more competitive and therefore more favorably positioned to both win back and acquire clients.
The December holidays are approaching and that gives you the most golden opportunity for client outreach, the holiday card. Start thinking about your cards NOW. Would you like to have your local Sir Speedy or Kinko design a card for your clients? That will take some time and you want to be ready to mail in the first week of December. Remember that holiday cards intended for clients have a “Happy Holidays” message and not a religious message.
If you publish a newsletter or blog, clients past and present are ideal candidates for your mailing list. Clients have willingly shared their contact information and that gives you permission to send each a courtesy copy. Your content is an effective way to demonstrate the depth and breadth of your business acumen, making it similar to an ongoing audition for future assignments. Your newsletter or blog are effective ways to keep your organization at top of mind. Nevertheless, include an opt-out feature for those who prefer to discontinue.
Finally, you can offer a 20 % discount to any client who has not worked with you for the past three or more years. You might include the notice in two successive issues of your blog or newsletter, or send a separate email announcement, or both. However you get the word out, I suggest that you honor the discount for any client who requests it, even if it’s a year after the announcement appeared and you just competed a project with that client last month.
Thanks for reading,
Kim
Photograph: Jonathan Frid as vampire Barnabas Collins in the ABC-TV gothic horror soap opera “Dark Shadows” (1966-1971)
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