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Last week I had an encounter that reminded me what a difference a little followup can make.
I was sitting in my local Panera Bread restaurant, and struck up a conversation with the woman sitting at the table next to mine. Turns out her family owns a local heating and air conditioning business. Their name was familiar to me because a company I used to work for used them exclusively, and they needed them a lot.
We talked for a while, found several common interests, and exchanged phone numbers.
Here’s where the postcard comes in. When I got home I checked my receipts, because 2 years ago I replaced my central air unit and my furnace. I spent about $5,000, but when I was talking with my new friend, I couldn’t remember which company I’d ended up purchasing from. When I checked my receipts, I realized I had bought from her family’s company.
What if someone asked me for a referral? Even though I was satisfied with everything about my purchase, I couldn’t have given one on the spot. My intentions are better than my memory.
The only correspondence I’d gotten from the company since I had my unit installed was a bill for the service call when they came to balance the air flow. What if they had sent me a birthday card, a Christmas card, or just a thank you card? I’ll bet I would have been more likely to remember their name.
If you want your customers to remember your name when someone asks them for a referral, check out this online service for sending greeting cards and postcards. Is a $5000 referral worth the price of a few postcards?
