"When is a project complete?" This is a question that I often ask candidates, sub-contractors and other prospective business partners. Most will respond with answers like "When we’ve completed every objective listed in the statement of work" or "when we’ve handed over the final product and the project documentation to the client". Some others would say "When the client pays the bill".
Unfortunately, the above answers are entirely too near-sighted. In today’s business world, we move quickly. Tackle one project, meet the project goals and schedule, shake hands and move on to the next project. The faster we move, the more projects we complete and the more revenue we stand to generate. However, many young, fast-moving companies fail to properly build customer follow-up into their business models; an oversight that likely costs them dearly.
Think about lead generation. How many hours go into establishing a relationship with a new client? How many loss leader and small pro bono tasks are required before you get sign off on that first big job that you originally quoted 3 – 4 months ago? It takes many hours of dedication and persistence to truly concrete a customer relationship. And, all along the way, you’re essentially working for free in order to build trust and confidence. This is particularly true if you’re of a young age trying to prove yourself to a seasoned executive with salt and pepper hair.
Now, compare that process of building a new relationship to a relationship with a current customer. In the case of the existing customer, the investment in laying a professional groundwork has been made and you’ve probably completed a sizable project. You’ve delivered on-time and met your customer’s expectations. You’ve delivered all the materials, the supporting documentation and, yes, the invoice to the client. Time to move on, right?
WRONG! You stand to gain—or save—a tremendous amount of valuable time, energy and money by nurturing your existing relationships rather than running out to seize the next new customer. You’re at what I would consider to be the most important phase of any project: Follow-up. Particularly for new customers, your strategic follow-up should center on over-communicating. At Cinnamon, we maintain a strict policy that requires direct client follow-up by phone, email or an in person visit 24 hours after a project is “completed”. Again after 3 days. And again after 1 week. And AGAIN after 30 days. After that, we check in every 4 – 6 weeks to basically say “How’s it going?” This rolling cycle of follow up offers three distinct advantages:
- It shows the client that you’re truly invested, beyond just getting paid, in the project and in the relationship that you’ve worked so hard to build. Your customer deserves the same care and attention that you gave them during the early stages of your relationship.
- Ongoing follow up keeps your name, your company and your line of services in front of the client. Remind them on a continued basis that you’re ready and willing to work for them at any time. Use follow up opportunities to cross or up-sell your services and promote the ways that your products and services compliment one another. Something along the lines of “Hey, you’ve already got [service] up and running - with a small marginal investment you could also have [service] and really benefit from…”
- Follow-up will almost certainly guarantee the acquisition of your NEXT project, often in the form of up-selling. By giving your client a channel through which to easily communicate with your team, you open the door to additional project opportunities. Without this constant reminder or the convenience of having a chance to ask for your help on the fly they likely will not go out of their way to contact you.