Contributed by Jeanette Gardiner
Take off your business owner hat for a minute and replace it with your prospect or new customer hat.
Then think about your most recent interaction with a business that was new to you, whether you made a purchase or not, and ask yourself, “Did I receive something of value from that interaction?”
Okay, put back on your business owner hat as you consider this question, “Is my business providing something of value to prospects and new customers?”
Every interaction you have is an opportunity to build your know, like and trust (KLT) factor. And in a world that competes for our attention 24/7, building your KLT is essential to a thriving business.
So how do you provide value to begin building your KLT factor?
Here are five inexpensive and easy ways to get started today:
1. Anticipate and answer questions with FAQs: Post on your website and social media channels.
2. Create templated emails (that you personalize!) for faster response times: Templated emails also ensure consistent messaging across your business, which makes them perfect for employees or other team members responsible for answering emails.
3. For new customers, send a welcome email (again, personalized) within one business day: Even better is a handwritten note. (I’ll share ways to make this easy and less time-consuming in a future article.)
4. Customize your outgoing voicemail message with options for callers to find answers quickly and easily: (i.e. “Wondering how we can help? Visit (our website) and click on the services tab.”). Remember to return the call too!
5. Give them a gift in the form of an informational product: Informational products offer your prospects a sample of what it would be like to do business with you. They showcase your expertise while providing valuable, mini-solutions to your prospects and customers. And, informational products are effective ways to grow your email list.
If you’re wondering, “What in the world would that look like for my business?” I’ll be sharing ideas in an upcoming informational product (Contact me if you’d like to join my list and receive this once ready!).
As you consider the ways that you can create value for your prospects and customers, keep in mind all of the different touch points where they come into contact with your business: website, online contact forms, social media, phone, email, text and in-person.
That will help you determine which of the above five to implement first.
And if you’re already using some of these ways in your business, take a fresh look to see if the content can be enhanced with even more value, or automated to improve responsiveness. (Note: Automated does not mean robotic and impersonal.)
How are you providing value to your prospects and customers?
