Jewelry ECOMM Tech
3 Steps: How To Follow Up With Clients and Why It’s Important To Your Business April 03, 2019 (0 comments)
If you're not following up with potential customers properly, you're leaving a lot of money on the table.
I want to tell you a story about a retail sale that happened and then the followup that didn't happen. I use to work on the sales floor of a jewelry store selling gorgeous diamond jewelry. A few years in, I had the *amazing* opportunity to be apart of the selling process for a super luxe, Tiffany-inspired two-karat diamond ring that came with a “no big deal” $30k+ price tag. The couple, who we custom made the ring for, were absolutely fantastic to work with. From the creative development through the sale, they were truly amazing every step of the way. So why did we not follow up with them after the sale? We never emailed them. We didn't text them. We didn't even follow up to make sure it fit. This was a couple who chose us out of all the jewelry stores to create their forever piece and spent a lot of money doing this in the process. Sure, everything was great and they got a fantastic ring, but the problem lay with our business and the fact that we did not have a distinct follow-up strategy in place. Ask yourself these questions:
- Where are you doing this in your business?
- Do you have a system in place that allows you to follow up with your VIP clients after every purchase?
- How can you improve this in your business?
How To Do A Proper Follow Up
1. Create a post-sale process
Determine what gesture is right for your business, whether that is a simple text message, personalized handwritten note or a bouquet of flowers. How can you ensure that they keep coming back to YOU?2. Put a date to every action step you will take
Figure out what days which process will happen so that 7 days after the purchase you send them a thank you note; 6 months after the purchase you invite them for a complimentary cleaning; and 1 year after the purchase you send them congratulatory flowers or invite them in for a cup of tea or glass of champagne.3. Schedule these into your calendar
Go through the last 3 sales that you made and put tasks into your calendar to do the follow-up actions that you created. **There are some CRM programs that can support you. One of my favorites is HubSpot. As you will always hear me talk about it, I like it because it has a FREE CRM feature that you can use to schedule all of these actions. It's so important to follow up with your past clients because the possibility of another sale is extremely high. But also for product quality and business improvements. Maybe there are issues that you don't know about and the client is too embarrassed or too busy to notify you of them. Example: My engagement ring is off my hand and sitting in a tray by my desk because the bezel has sheared off. The antique diamonds are family heirlooms, so I don't want to lose those diamonds. The woman who sold it to me has not reached out in NINE YEARS and the designer has never reached out even ONCE. I would love to receive an email from her every 6 months during these years just saying, ‘Hey, how's the ring? Anything we can do for you?’ It doesn't even have to be sales focused. Really, just the service of reaching out is sufficient. Because then I wouldn't have to hunt down her number or take it to another jeweler because she would be proactively reaching out to me to make sure my needs are taken care of and ensure I keep my business with her. Bottom line: You should always be going out of your way to inform your customers. You should err on the side of being OVER communicative. Don't make the same mistake that I did when I didn't follow up with my biggest sale. They could have been long-term customers who bought again and again.P.S. Here are TWO ways I can help you grow your jewelry business:
- Download the FREE eBook 3 Key Emails To Turn Window Shoppers Into Collectors
- Work with me and my team privately