Create a Stronghold!

I am sure you have noticed how the ancient civilizations had this habit of building large fort complexes or walls around the city? The Great Wall of China is a massive remnant and in India we have brilliant examples in Delhi and Rajasthan. Impressive palaces and forts with impenetrable walls, usually built on hills with easy view in all directions and difficult to approach without being noticed.

These structures were created as safe havens – to protect the people and the wealth of the Kingdom from the enemies.

Can you create such strongholds to protect your precious revenue sources? Of course, I am speaking about your customers?

How do you ensure that all the major customers that you have nurtured and grown into regular business yielding accounts are not stolen overnight by a marauding rival?

1. Create a plan

Ensure that you have a proper strategy in place to deal with the major / revenue-yielding accounts. This should then be broken down into a plan to do a series of things such as making regular visits to the account, who would meet whom, when your top management would theirs, what activities/campaigns you would conduct during the year to stay close to the customer and so on.

2. Find ways to build stickiness

Can you send them information in their areas of interest? Can you talk to them about developments in your field which can benefit them? Can you introduce them to potential customers? Give them ideas to grow their business and to build their networks.

3. Personalise the experience

Do things differently for this group of important customers. Can you send them an occasional hand-written Thank You note instead of the routine email? Can the stationery used for these customers be different? What other ways can you make the experience unique for this group?

4. Don’t give them an opportunity to complain

Can you give them privileges not available to other customers – a separate hotline for service, faster turn-around-time for complaints / enquiries?  Can the overall package of sales, service and support be provided seamlessly so that the customer has an experience that is hard to give-up and equally hard for others to replicate.

Make sure that you let your customers know that they are top-of-mind for you and conversely can you create an agenda to ensure that you are top-of-mind for them? When the talk is about the product / service you provide how do you ensure that the discussion involves you in a favorable and positive way?

How do you stop your competitor from getting a look-in at these accounts and when the customer thinks about buying again they are only thinking about you?

Have you built a wall around all your customers?

——————————————–

To receive Updates regarding all the articles published at Sales Coach Blog you only need to ’Like‘: https://www.facebook.com/Sales.Coach.Blog

About these ads