The difference between a successful business and one that just gets by is that the business that is just getting by thinks that the marketing is over when the sale has been made.

One of the main reasons customers leave, change suppliers, or stop buying is because of apathy on the part of the company. There is never any follow-up after the sale. Customers often feel neglected. They feel that the company doesnt appreciate their business so they will give it to another company that does.

In order for your business to maximize its profits, you have to realize the immense potential value of each customer. And it begins when the first sale is made. Each customer is a potential repeat customer and potential referral source leading to other customers.

So the follow-up begins with a thank-you note or card sent out within 24 hours after their purchase. If they have purchased from your web site, within minutes after their purchase. When's the last time a business thanked you for being a customer?

Your follow-up must continue on a regular, using a variety of the many follow-up opportunities that are available to you. And the variety of effective follow-up opportunities that you have available to you, is a limitless as your imagination. Here are ten ideas to help get you started:

1. A preferred customer show

2. A birthday card

3. A special sale for preferred customers

4. A newsletter

5. A personal letter with facts of interest plus a special offer.

6. A personal telephone call follow-up.

7. A holiday card.

8. A contest or sweepstakes.

9. A special thank you card on the anniversary of when they became a customer.

10. A special report, book, or e-book for customers only.

Marketing studies have shown that it costs a business six times more to sell something to a prospect than to sell the same thing to current customer. So, your goal should be to develop a long-term relationship with every customer or client. Long lasting relationships with your customers or clients will yield a wealth of benefits for your business.

The starting point of any follow-up should be your commitment to your customers or clients happiness. Your goal is not simply customer satisfaction but rather exceeding the expectations of your customers, giving them more than they anticipated. Showing them that you care about them more than theyre used to from a business.

To do this, youve got to learn about your customers. You learn first by listening to them, then by asking more questions and listening carefully. One of the best follow-up tools to use is sending them a questionnaire after their purchase. You can also have them fill out a questionnaire on your web site. By knowing the personal likes and dislikes of your customers you can render personalized service, such as clipping articles of interest to special customers or recognizing their achievements, and the achievements of their families or businesses.

When people purchase from your web site or subscribe to your newsletter you should have some type of auto responder. With an auto responder, you can create a series of e-mails designed to consistently communicate with your customers. You can set up your auto responder to automatically send a series of e-mails to your customers at predetermined intervals. For example, as soon as they sign up for your newsletter, they will receive the first e-mail in the series. And you can set the rest of the series to arrive every 2 days, or once a week, or whatever time frame you think is best.

Stay in touch with your customers because if you don't, someone else will. Marketing studies have shown that nearly eighty percent of business is lost because of apathy after the sale. Built-in follow-up, set up as an automatic procedure by your company, is a barrier to apathy. It requires time, energy, and imagination but it does not require a lot of money.

For example, a customer representing $200 in profit to you can mean a $200 profit without follow-up. Or that same customer can mean $60,000 in profit with follow-up. Heres an example of how the arithmetic of consistent follow-up can work:

* Follow-up transforms the $200 yearly profit into a $600 yearly profit per customer with two repeat sales.

* Follow-up results in four referrals, each representing $600, for a total of $2,400 per year. $2,400 plus $600 equals $3,000.

* Even if you earn no more referrals after the first year, $3,000 times a 10 year relationship you should have with your customers means at least $30,000 profit per customer - - if you follow-up!

Customers are much more willing to buy from a company they have already done business with than from a different company that they dont know. Once a customer has purchased from you, the chances of them buying from you again are very good. Take advantage of this human phenomenon to increase your sales effortlessly and automatically with immediate and consistent follow-up.

Copyright 2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved