Can You Transform Your 15 Minutes of Fame into Continuous Success?
If you’ve already been blessed with what you’d consider your “big break” then you’ll want to have a solid plan to keep business flowing.
Maybe you’ve hooked up with a very influential “older-preneur” who has tons of contacts, or someone with clout really digs your product – whatever your case may be, time should be your number one concern. You need to react to the accolades quickly and gracefully. Don’t be like me and blush your way through meetings with people who tell you that you’re awesome. An ounce of humility keeps you human and easy to reach, but an ounce is all you need in this case.
Connect with your audience immediately. The internet offers so many easy ways to do this. Connect with them and thank them for purchasing your product or service, joining your group – or whatever they have done to build your success.
Tell the people your story. You can use the internet to share some of your background and future plans. Update them no more than once a month on news and progress.
Give stuff Away. Send your customers coupons, magnets, or any freebee that’s relevant to your industry. You also need to encourage them to refer their friends to you. I used to work for a multi million dollar company that was built on referrals. Referrals are FREE!!
Once you’ve covered the “thank you’s” and established a trusting bond with your customers you should step outside the internet. A hand written or hand signed post card is a nice touch. You’re still a start-up so you want to remain tangible to the public. (And, I think it’s valuable to always remain tangible). Your post card can double as a coupon or special event invitation (if you can afford that). I’m not talking about spam mail; I’m talking about connecting with the people who have shown some respect for your business. Sending them something every few months is enough. Even better if you can personalize it.
Calling or directly e-mailing clients works too. GoDaddy calls us about once every three months to thank us for using them and asks if we have any questions. Think about how busy your clients are; maybe they have questions but no time to call you.
If you can solidify your relationship with a core group of clients or customers, you are almost always guaranteed referrals. Keep in close contact and always remain human and friendly with them, and they will continue to feed you for years to come.
2 Comments
lawrence
June 13th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
i agree - your 15 minutes can only take you so far, you should consider it a blessing you even got the 15 mintues to start with. don’t take it for granted, from that point on work your butt off and push forward further
to keep it revolving(if not evolving) - you must have a real product, for real people, for a real purpose…and do it, above and beyond the standard competition - in some way, shape or form
i know of some companies that do those periodical phone calls to you - just to checkup, so to speak…lol, it’s really annoying. don’t come to me, i’ll come to you.
David Askaripour
June 13th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Very true, Gina. I have since ventured out into some physical products and services after thinking about how much of an “Internet” presence I was focusing on. Nowadays, I am also focusing on the print magazine / the monthly events here in the city — MP Mixups. It’s so important to get out there and actually meet and greet your clients and supporters. Nothing can beat that, really. Thanks for reinforcing that for me
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