KIA&B 2018 Vol 23 No. 2 | Page 22

19. Help customers avoid “buyer’s remorse.” Customers always want to feel good about their choices. Yet, feelings of uncertainty often set in and they doubt their decision. To help them avoid getting “cold feet,” reinforce why they decided to work with you, what they liked about it and share third-party testimonials to validate their decision. 20. Always say “Thank you.” Every conversation is an opportunity to express appreciation, whether it’s responding to a problem, greeting a new customer, hearing about a mistake, or getting an order. 21. Stay in touch. Getting customers is hard work; keeping them is even more demanding. Send periodic emails, but don’t make them ads! “Buy, buy, buy” drives them away. Offer helpful information and be sure to ask their opinion of their customer experience. Most companies want to do the right thing by their customers. Yet, far too many fall short, believing that giving them a standard customer experience is all it takes. It isn’t. Actor and director Adam Arkin says it’s hard to believe that the factor affecting the final outcome of a film is still news: “When people are treated well and they’re made to feel valued, they give 110 percent.” That goes for customers too. John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategy consultant and business writer. He is the creator of “Magnet Marketing,” and publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at [email protected] or visit www.johnrgraham.com. It’s one more way We Insure Peace of Mind. Making it easier for our agency partners to help their clients. That’s our inspiration for creating our new Columbia Safeguard businessowners product, and TouchPoint System, our custom quoting platform. Better service for your clients. Our new Columbia Safeguard businessowners product replaces our legacy Businessowners, Contractors, and Garage- owners products. System Innovation Stop typing, start quoting. Our new custom quoting interface, the TouchPoint system provides a fast, accurate quote online with less manual data entry. colinsgrp.com 20 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | March - April 2018 |