Talk up your follow-ups

The seismic change in the state of the economy has generated a flurry of marketing effort from a sector not normally known for its activity in this area – the rural building trade. Following a recent application for planning permission for a conservatory on our farmhouse, we were deluged with over 30 letters from local builders offering their services – whereas previously you couldn’t get a builder for love nor money.

Following their initial approaches however, not one of those companies has followed up with any further enquiry or expression of interest. This is seriously missing a trick, since as a customer I am no further on in my decision about which builder to use because no one has come forward to help me decide.

The issue of how to follow up on initial contacts is always a tricky one – don’t want to seem desperate/pushy, but at the same time don’t want to lose the sniff of an opportunity. Obviously each situation has to be judged on its merits, but I am increasingly sure that repeated follow-ups are valid - even if they are dismissed - because something somewhere will sow a seed in the recipient’s mind.

All too often in the research industry we are invited to pitch for a job and having put 3 or more full days’ work into a proposal, hear absolutely nothing up to several weeks later. However nicely put, I always think an airy ‘just by the way, any news?’ email can sound a bit naggy or petulant and risks making the original enquirer feel annoyed or guilty and therefore reluctant to reply.

So the trick is to make the followup look like something that they can benefit from. It can take various forms, but the objective should always be to make the recipient feel they have learned a bit more about you and have something to base their opinion on - and haven’t been made to feel under pressure.

It’s about sounding constructive and upbeat and demonstrating you’re going the extra mile to take an interest. A credible and effective way to prompt awareness of your existence/skills/offer is in the form of news about what you’ve been doing, in order to create a link in the reader’s mind. It needn’t be anything dramatic, but enough to create a reference point (eg if builders told us that they’d recently completed a project in the local area, the next time we drove past it we’d register it was them).

Or, pass on a random snippet of information relating to their project (eg a relevant website/article reference - ‘I thought you might be interested to see this ….); or an industry observation which lets them know you’re up to speed and professionally aware of the broader market. It’s not re-selling yourself but offering something for nothing, and thereby giving them a reason to log you.

Certainly it’s often quite difficult to think of something relevant or sparky to push forward, but the internet is a huge ally here. A scan of the news pages, industry forums or a quick google on your topic will virtually always yield something you can pick up and pass on as a couple of sentences just to ‘keep in touch’. I’m amazed at how often I notice something relevant on emails that come in from Brand Republic or Purple Penguin’s Marketing Blog that can be noted and forwarded to clients who will find it of genuine interest, and allows me to take the credit for bringing it to their attention. Even if it turns out not to be new news to them, the main point is that you will be seen to have made an effort on the customer’s behalf - and that’s not going to go unnoticed.