customer follow-up

Staying on top of follow-ups can change customer perception of your business and trigger them to buy. They allow for continuous nurturing and bonding with customers. 

If you’re looking to build stronger relationships, follow-up is the key. Keep reading for eleven ways to improve customer follow-up responses.

1. Design a User-Friendly Website

It’s no surprise why web experts insist on investing in a responsive website. A user-friendly website leaves customers happier and satisfied. They’re likely to return for more business or to continue to interact with your business.

A responsive website is a foundation for offering a great customer experience. We all love it when a site loads fast on any device and the design grabs all our attention.

The goal of a customer follow-up is to boost satisfaction and build loyalty. These customers have an experience interacting with your business. If they had a bad web experience, you’ll need to up your game to gain back their trust. 

The best thing for customers is that your website is accessible, usable, and an info hub. They have to find what they want fast, face no usability hoops, and feel empowered. Get a website revamp today to activate one of the keys to successful follow-ups and improved sales. 

2. Be Responsive and Present on Your Sales Channels

Speed is non-negotiable in customer service today. Once customers join your brand, they expect swift service and zero disappointments. 82% of customers rate immediate responses as a crucial factor when they ask a question. 

Customers’ patience is also at an all-time low. Their definition for an immediate response is 10 minutes or less. Basically, they want help─ and fast. If you let them down, you can’t expect them to continue interacting with your business. 

So, you have to dance to their tune to improve follow-up responses. Make responsive customer service part of your brand. Be there with a helpful answer when customers pop up a question or ask for help.

Being responsive shows customers that you value their time. Customers will open your emails because they’re sure of getting quick help. Also, be present on social media chats and reduce response times.

Go with a website design that highlights your calls to action, contacts, and live chatbox. Customers shouldn’t struggle to reach you. These actions help to create consumer behaviors that can help your business build longevity.

3. Provide Customers With Self-Service Options

Business building is a challenge that has many levels to it. As your business grows, so do customers and their issues. At some point, things can be overwhelming and efficient service be mere talk. 

Providing self-service options is an effective solution for both growing and established businesses. Instead of asking questions, customers can use self-help tools to find answers. 

Self-help options can speed up service and boost satisfaction. Studies show customers don’t want to make phone calls but prefer helping themselves. 53% reported that they should be able to help themselves rather than rely on customer service reps. 

A great way to introduce self-service and boost client follow-up responses is to build a knowledge base on your site. Provide in-depth information to your customers and answer their common questions.

4. Test Different Customer Follow-Up Methods

A client follow-up can be as intimidating as cold calling them the first time. You might toggle between methods of follow-up because you don’t want to appear pushy. Sometimes, you’re not sure which method or tactic will bring the best results.

Take time to qualify your prospects from the beginning of the buying process. Try to understand their buying habits and how they make decisions. Some prospects need a high level of engagement while others will buy after a simple reminder. 

Whether it’s a client or sales follow-up, you need to reach out to a client more than once. Some sales follow-ups deliver results after more than 30 calls or messages. One method may not work so you’ll need to test different approaches. 

Marketing studies show that a customer has to see a message up to seven times before acting on it. Don’t give up after a follow-up email. The target prospect might be an active user of a different channel so keep an eye on response data.

5. Create Valuable Content to Spike Open Rates

Your prospect’s time is precious. In every follow-up, they expect value in exchange for their time. You want to close engagements knowing you’ve empowered them. 

Creating valuable content nurtures prospects and allows you to discover their pain points. It encourages visitors to interact with your business and discover other products. It also improves the brand image leading to more open or click-through rates. 

Think about your customer when creating content. Your content should address their struggles and match their interests. Avoid being pushy and focus on educating, entertaining, and adding more value to conversations. Your goal is to get to the root of their problems. 

Remember that compelling copy or content is the magnet that drives engagement. Customers say valuable content is a sign of a caring company or business. So focus on fulfilling their content needs to boost follow-ups and improve sales. 

6. Personalize Messaging and Replies

Messaging is one of the most effective forms of communication. People read and respond to 95% of messages within three minutes. 48% of customers prefer brand communication to be in the form of messages.

But exposure to messaging is increasing every day which is watering down its effectiveness. Studies show an average American comes across up to 4000 messages daily. At this rate, your open rates could be poor if you’re sending bulks of impersonal messages. 

Personalized messaging can make your customers feel special. It has high open rates and is best for conducting sales follow-ups. Personalized emails done after audience segmentation can boost sales revenues by 50%

Personalization marketing is data-intensive. You need to collect user information, including their names to create effective messaging. Then, separate or segregate the audience based on the collected data.

Refer to customers by their names and history during interactions. Make engagements feel friendly and casual. Customers are likely to share and open up more when you humanize the conversation. 

7. Offer Omnichannel Customer Follow-Up Support

Accessibility is a crucial consideration when building a business both online and offline. Customers don’t need to send messages on all channels to find you. They expect a quick response to their first question or message. 

Accessibility matters when you want to boost customer follow-up response rates. You might chat with a customer on one medium one day and the next day they’re spending time on another.

Offer omnichannel customer service support for a seamless feedback process. Regardless of which channel they’re using, you should be relevant. Use their history to provide a smooth, fast, consistent experience through different channels. 

An omnichannel customer follow-up support means being present and active on every channel. It’s a strategy that considers that customers can shop from any device or app. If you cover all, you make it easy and convenient for them which boosts your brand image. 

An effective omnichannel presence can mean being available via mediums including:

  • Telephone
  • Live chat
  • Mobile phone
  • Emails
  • Social media
  • Text messaging
  • Messaging apps

Make it known to your clients which channels you use on your website.

8. Identify and Solve Recurring Complaints

Customer complaints are inevitable when growing a business. Some can stem from a customer’s misunderstanding and some may actually be your fault. The worst mistake you can make is to ignore them─ especially the recurring ones. 

Frequent unresolved complaints can damage your reputation and put off loyal customers. Few customers will stay committed to a brand that doesn’t listen to customers.

Ask your team to go through the complaints and identify the top ten most recurring. Rank them based on the frequency of occurrence then ask relevant departments to find solutions. This approach helps you create a perception of a listening brand.

The goal is to increase follow-up responses. You have to show you can act and make customer lives better. Besides, having fewer complaints boosts your confidence and trust in your customer relationships.

9. Ask Customers for Feedback 

Proactiveness in customer service can bring more out of follow-up interactions. Rather than wait for customers to bring up issues, start the conversation. This will allow you to measure satisfaction and take action before customers ditch you. 

Every client follow-up campaign is an opportunity to improve your business and products. Follow-ups should focus on growing solid relationships with customers. The beauty of it is customers will feel valued when you respect their opinion. 

Launch a customer follow-up process after they register, leave or buy a product. Find more about their interests and expectations about your business. This sort of attention can help you convert dropping clients and make the most of loyal ones.

Run social media contests and surveys to gauge your user experience. Ask customers to comment about the improvements they expect to see or what they like about your brand. Use their feedback to improve your business.

10. Introduce Automated Responses to Help Customers When You’re Away

As much as you want to be available for your customers, staying consistent can be a challenge. Rush hours may mean an overwhelmed customer service team. System failures may slow down responses or disrupt communication. 

For efficiency guarantees, you have to consider introducing automated responses. Customers need an instant response when they respond to your follow-up. They might think you’ve ignored them when they don’t receive any feedback or confirmation. 

Automated replies will help boost responsiveness and engagement rates. They help clients understand that you’ve seen their message and you’re working on an answer. They can also give satisfaction when you’re away and boost the experience.

An excellent example of automated replies is the integrated live chat app on a website. Sometimes the app is linked to the FAQ section or knowledge base to automate help to visitors. This can reduce bounce rates by helping customers save time. 

11. Send Value Packed Sales Follow-up Messages and Emails

The majority of marketing messages get ignored. Only 8.5% of outreach messages gain a response. This is why following up with customers with value-packed emails is crucial.

Follow-up emails have two times more response success rates than the first email. They are usually a marketer’s best bet to improve sales. Yet, sometimes they can sound nagging, desperate, or pushy.

For success, you have to make customers look forward to the following message. Create strong emails or messages that interest and engage your customers. Add more value by integrating some social proof and helpful links.

Try adding some attachments or links that can capture your readers’ interest. Show customers that you’ve done your research. And go the extra mile to help them. 

You want to have a pool of curiosity-generating information. This way, you can lead conversations and stay relevant when following up with customers. Keep an eye on industry trends and news to arm yourself with noteworthy items for your message. 

If there’s a new and exciting blog, you want to ensure customers know about it. Consider adding a link to a new blog when sending your message. If it matches their interest it could take them to your site for further nurturing. 

For dormant customers, you have to look at their search habits and hit them with a personalized email. Remind them about your product’s features and benefits. Also, ask them if they have suggestions that can help improve your products. 

Are You Leveraging the Power of Customer Follow-Up in Your Business? 

The power of customer follow-up is often overlooked in business. But it can also be one of the best ways to add to building a successful business.

Most customers convert after many failed attempts of follow-up. So don’t make the mistake of giving up because each follow-up reinforces your brand into their mind. Are you looking to build a website or marketing systems that effectively nurture leads for your business? Contact us today to schedule a consultation.