Good communication to your customer
From: Aaron Chism
Subject: RE: Good communication to your customer - March 23, 2020
Hello,
In case you didn’t notice, I’ve been out today. It’s spring break, and there aren’t many options out there for kids to do right now with everything going on! We’ve been camping and hiking to get away from everything for a moment! And I admit, it’s not real camping if you get some pickup… but I have to say, those local businesses REALLY appreciate the business right now. I really felt it when I picked up dinner tonight. That’s just good business. Appreciate your customers. And it beat roasting weenies. Who knows what’s in those things?! But I’m doing s’mores tomorrow! We just didn’t get around to it tonight.
Aside from that, let’s talk about sharing knowledge!
Customers appreciate when you share secrets.
It’s true, most people worry about giving away information! It’s OK to share some answers to the questions! Give away as much info as you can to your customers. Help them! Be direct and personal. Be focused. Help them with their problems. Let’s say you have an answer to their problem. Let them know about it. You are the one with the answers. Don’t worry about them going elsewhere after you share the info… they know you are the one with the answers!
They will understand you are the one with the guidance and know-how. It’s OK to share some secrets. If you are the teacher, they will respect you for your abundance of knowledge and will come back to learn more. Of course, it’s up to you to always learn more! I know to some of you, that sounds like crazy talk. But think about it. Why would they go elsewhere if you are the one with all the solutions? And if you don’t have the solution… well, then admit it. Let them know you don’t know, but you’ll find out. Take responsibility for finding the answer.
You already know this, but they are looking to buy a solution – and if you know it, they want it, and if you don’t know it and take responsibility for finding it quickly, you are taking responsibility and keeping them updated is equally as good as long as you DELIVER. If they can get a job completed with RGA, they will appreciate doing business with RGA.
Thanks,
Aaron
From: Aaron Chism
Subject: RE: Good communication to your customer - March 20, 2020
Good afternoon,
Going back over a couple of items – email forces you to be brief. No bloat. Keep it focused and to the point to grab attention.
Spend more time relating to the customer and their relationship with RGA and provide a call to action.
Ask yourself:
1. Would I read this, or would I stop?
2. Am I speaking the way I’d want to be spoken to? Keep it respectful, professional, and reliable.
3. Can I simplify more? Cut the junk out.
4. What is the call to action? That’s also known as CTA… this is where you’re aiming. There’s a point to this communication and make sure it’s obvious for your customer.
Read emails before you send them. Take your time and repeat the CTA.
Until next time!
Thanks,
Aaron
From: Aaron Chism
Subject: RE: Good communication to your customer - March 19, 2020
Good morning,
In a phone call, email, or meeting, keep in mind your customer’s current relationship with RGA.
You can send emails to each individual customer with information that is most relevant to them. Segment them. Don’t send everyone the same thing in an email. It’s also important to protect their identity. Sending individual emails open dialog between you and that person the same way a phone conversation goes. If you send a mass email, it will be obvious that it is not meant for just them and it also displays everyone’s email address in the to field (unless they are blind carbon copies). For example, look below at everyone’s email address. You don’t want to share other customer’s email addresses with each other (unless they are in the same company, of course).
I know the above seems obvious, but many businesses don’t do this simple step. There are many angles you can use when considering segmentation – RFM:
• Recency (when did a customer last buy from you)
• Frequency (how often does a customer buy from you)
• Monetary Value (how much do they spend)
Try to factor the range of historical data and future estimates in conversation.
There’s also another set to segment customers in – those that have purchased before and new customers.
Segmentation creates profitable campaigns.
Let new customers know you are getting them a great deal. Let loyal customers have “access to a hidden” series of products for the future. They might not know we offer other products and if you know they get them somewhere else, find the way to let them know we’ve had great success with that product at other customer locations. For example, if they have need for cleaners & sealants or other miscellaneous items, let them know we have Teflon tape, silicone rubber adhesive sealant, Loctite copper-based anti-seize lubricant, C5-A, etc.
Even emphasize we can be their one stop shop to beef up our relationship. It could even be posed in such a way if we take care of them, we could eliminate another couple avenues that they don’t have to worry about anymore. Maybe they’re getting WD-40 from somewhere else, well, we can take care of them there. We’ve joked about it in the past, but if you have a way to get them toilet paper, maybe that alone could emphasize your value. Make sure you can get that first, though. Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.
Just look at order history in Tribute and that’s the information you need to spark up an informative dialog. Also, don’t forget about TdF Web. It is a good tool to access contact information, analysis, and historical information. With the heavier load being put on our system right now, it’s a lighter way to get the info you need.
Measure the result – see how it compares to past business. Keep up with this information in TdF. This will help you track where you are with them and what the next logical step would be. These tips whether face to face, on the phone, or email will build trust with your customer. Prove to them you have great product knowledge and a good understanding of their needs, and most importantly, your dedication on they need to solidify the relationship with them.
The goal is to offer what the competition doesn’t. If that’s just being available, then that speaks volumes.
Until next time!
Thanks,
Aaron
From: Aaron Chism
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 9:39 AM
Subject: Good communication to your customer - March 18, 2020
Good morning!
I thought I’d take a minute to drop a quick message to everyone – talking about communication and how to get customer attention.
There are a lot of face to face calls being limited recently, so we should always adapt and explore other avenues – such as emails, phone calls, and meetings. Did you know you can conference from your company provided cell phone, if you have one? In a call, you can press +Add Call and once the other person answers, you can merge your 2 calls together.
I’m not here to discuss what phone is superior over another. But android phones control the market. For over 7 years, they have made up over 80% of smartphones out there. That means odds are greater that you can even initiate a video call natively from your phone. Do you have a sample you want to show the customer? In a call, if they can take one, just press the video call button. If they can’t video call because they have an incompatible phone or they are just on a desk phone in the office, then pictures work well, too. There are other means, but let’s keep it as simple as possible.
There are hundreds of billions of emails sent across the world, each day! It’s easy to have emails go through that we don’t spend much time on. In the past few days, we average about 1,000 going out and 3,000 coming at RGA. There are a small handful of us that make up half of those emails. I’m sure everyone can agree some emails only get a couple seconds at best to glance over. With hundreds coming in and out of my box each day, I can assure you, there isn’t enough time to read them all!
Emails should be thoughtful, researched, and to the point. Like I said, there are some emails that don’t get glanced over much. Are you still reading this? ??
Until the next email, here are some things to keep in mind regarding email communication (even in cold email situations) – emails coming from a specific salesperson, rather than a company is more likely to grab attention. Sometimes, emails are about making a personal connection, especially with prospects. There’s a connection with the name in the “from” line. It’s the same as when you see them face to face and shake their hand (or elbow bump them).
Grab their attention with the subject line – the subject line is the best chance you have to get them to read the email and even respond to it. Keep the subject short (never put a message in the subject line), include something like maybe their name or the company name. Personalized subjects are 26% more likely to be opened.
Keep the body short. Don’t make your email a novel. Include the research you did, mention why you are interested in working with them specifically. RGA products will help them and you should know and explain to them exactly why it will. Build trust.
Until next time!
Thanks,
Aaron