Rekindling the Flame

by Elizabeth Frederick

It happens to all of us – in the beginning, everything is exciting.  You can’t wait to hear from them, every time you meet is amazing, and they seem to think the world of you.  Over time, you get to know each other a little better, and while you grow closer, you also learn some things you might not like about each other.  Then something about the situation changes and things come to a natural end.  But there’s still that little smile when you think about each other…

I’m talking, of course, about the client life cycle.  When’s the last time you contacted your former clients?  They can be a great source of both revenue and referrals!  Below are five reasons to contact old clients and five ideas for how to do it.

Why should I contact former clients?

1. They are already familiar with your products and/or services, and you don’t have to start from the beginning.
2. You may now have new products and/or services that you can introduce.
3. If they’ve moved on to another vendor, they may be unsatisfied and willing to come back.
4. Your former contact might be in a new position, so you have two opportunities: talk to your old contact as well as the person in their old role.
5. Unless the relationship ended on a bad note, they already have a positive opinion of you and can be a great source of referrals or testimonials.

How can I reach out to former clients?

1. Use Google Alerts to track mentions of former clients in the news.  Then give them a call or send an email to congratulate them on an achievement or discuss a news story you read.
2. Start a monthly or quarterly newsletter with new product announcements, relevant industry news, and client stories or case studies.  It’s an easy and cheap way to stay in front of people even when you’re not directly interacting anymore.
3. Schedule an open house or holiday party.  We held a holiday open house in December, and we were thrilled that some of our former clients were able to make it.  It was a great chance to catch up and we even received a few referrals!  We’re planning to make it a semi-annual event.
4. Call them to check in.  It doesn’t have to be a big deal, but a quick phone call or brief meeting to catch up and see how things are going is always a nice touch.
5. Conduct a survey to assess your performance.  You can (and should!) survey your clients while you’re working with them, but you should also survey former clients.  You can make this as simple or as complex as you want, from online surveys (like SurveyMonkey) to roundtable discussions.