Q. How often should I contact my customers?A. First off, we assume you're referring to customers and not prospects. With that assumption in mind, how often you contact customers is contingent on several factors, they are:
1) Customer preference - How often does the customer want to be contacted? Begin by asking the customer how much she wants to be contacted. "Ms. Customer, if we don't have any projects going on, how often would you like to hear from me?"
2) What is the activity level of this account? Do you currently have a project underway with this customer? Is this a customer you can sell to with some regularity, such as investment customers, or is this an infrequent sale, such as real estate or automobiles? If you have a current project underway, you may be in touch with your customer on a weekly basis, or even more, in-person, or over the phone. If this is an infrequent sale, such as automobiles, you may only send birthday, anniversary, and holiday cards, and perhaps an occasional e-mail.
3) What mediums are you using to contact this customer? Are you visiting in-person, are you mailing notes and/or cards, are you sending e-mails? You may call on a customer in-person once a quarter, mail something once a month, and e-mail or fax once a week. The manner in which you touch a customer usually governs the frequency with which you use it.
4) How important is this account to you and your business? Is this a major or minor account? If this account is your largest, most important account, you will spend more time reaching out to and communicating with that account, at the same time, you want to watch how you contact the account. For example, too many in-person visits can irritate a Driver personality type.
As a general rule, call on each account on a quarterly basis and mail to them once a month. In addition, you should be sending cards, gifts, items of interest, and doing other things which help nurture the relationship, keep the lines of communication open, and keep your name in front of your customers.
