There is a simple truth in business and marketing:

If you don’t stay in touch, people forget about you.

Your business card gets shuffled to the bottom of the desk drawer; your well-intended email gets deleted; your well-crafted introduction letter ends up in file 13. Yes, that’s right… the dustbin. Ouch.

And that great first impression you’ve made fades from their memory.

It’s the “out of sight – out of mind” phenomenon.

The sad thing is: it’s actually not their fault that prospects and clients forget about you. It is really your responsibility to stay in touch with them.

And we know that!

We know that in order to convert prospects into loyal clients and to have repeat work from existing and previous clients, we must stay in touch and build longer lasting relationships with them. We know we should follow-up. We know we should get in touch with people. We know we should STAY in touch.

But often lack of time or lack of confidence or even an overdeveloped fear of rejection prevents us from doing it.

So here are 7 ways to easily stay in touch with prospects and clients to ensure they keep thinking about you, your services and what you can do for them.

1.     Use a regular e-zine / e-newsletter.

For any online business (and even an off-line brick and mortar business) a regular e-zine is one of the easiest and most effective ways to stay in touch with your clients and prospects. Use the e-zine to share some great content or helpful tips with your subscribers. It will help you solidify your position as a credible and knowledgeable person in your industry and help you build the know, like and trust factor – which is critical in a services based business.

2.     Use social media

Social Media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn makes connecting and staying in touch with prospects and clients so much easier these days. For example, create a Facebook page or Twitter Profile for your business and ask prospects to connect with you on these platforms as well. Then engaged with them regularly and share interesting titbits so they can get to know you and your business better. Also comment, share and engage in conversations on the profiles of current and previous clients. This shows that you are taking an interest in them even after they’re not paying clients anymore. Social media is just a fun, inexpensive and effective way to constantly stay in touch with prospects and clients.

3.     Send the occasional “I thought of you” email

Send current and past clients an occasional email with a link and or an attachment of something you know they will find helpful. This can be an article you wrote or something you found on the internet. It can be a book you think they might enjoy or details of an event or speaker. Sending them valuable info even after they’ve worked with you shows you still understand their unique needs and keeps the relationship warm for possible follow up work.

4.     Invite them to events you host or are part of

When you host an event or are participating as a speaker at an event (online or offline), you might receive a couple of complementary tickets when it is a paid event. Why not invite one or more of your best clients to attend the event with you. They will not only benefit from the content and networking opportunities, they’ll also hear you speak and experience your expertise in person.

5.     Congratulate them on their birthday

Everybody loves it when people remember your birthday. So send your prospects, clients and previous clients a note on their birthday. It doesn’t really have to be a formal or handwritten card (although those always give a nice touch). It can just be a sincere email or even a comment on their Facebook page to let them know you are thinking about them. And if you have their phone number, call them.

6.     Snail mail still works great

Snail-mail isn’t dead when it comes to staying in touch with clients and prospects. Well-crafted letters and cards can stand out from the mass of emails that everyone receives. A postal campaign that reaches out to people over a period of time can bring a lot of goodwill to your business. It shows you put some more effort into contacting them than sending out a mass email. It can also build your brand as well as relationships with your clients on a deeper level. One drawback however is that lengthy postal campaign can be pricey.

7.    Pick up the phone

Give your clients and prospects a friendly, no-sales call and ask how they are. They’ll be blown away by this. A phone call can also be a great strategy to follow up with prospects when you do not hear anything from them after sending out an invitation to work with you. The truth is we are relying too much on the convenience of email these days, but countless opportunities are missed when we fail to talk to people.  A simple phone conversation can lead to many new clients since it’s personal and it’s a lot easier to solve issues and answer questions when talking to someone than trying to do it via emails.

Incorporating some of the above suggestions on a regular basis will ensure prospects and clients think of YOU when they’re ready to move forward. If someone is thinking about you and your business there is a much bigger chance that they will do business with you. Vice versa, if they are not thinking of you there is NO chance they will do business with you.

Do you have a story of how staying in touch resulted into clients? We would love to hear it! Share it with us in the comment section below. It’s always great to hear from you!

Till next time, stay inspired!