How to leverage existing client relationships offline

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Relationship building is the heart and soul of any network or referral relationship. It is said over and over again until we’re sick of it, but it’s true – people do business with those they know, like and trust.

In order to gain this trust, it’s important to look not only at how you communicate with someone online but also offline. Are you doing something or taking an extra step that brings your professional relationship a bit closer?

Here are some tips on how to bring your online relationships offline and create closeness with your clients and ultimately more trust.

Send a birthday card

A birthday card is a quick and powerful way to go the extra mile and engage your current customers. And I don’t mean a digital birthday card that you just automize. I mean a handwritten thought out card. It may cost you $5 but think about the long-term effects of something so simple.

This action alone shows that you care, that you thought about them on their day when you necessarily didn’t have to. And you never know how much of an impact this can make on them.

Send a note (similar to birthday cards but more unexpected)

Send a relevant article or book in the mail with an accompanying handwritten note.

Something as simple as, “Hey, Joseph, this article made me think of you,” or “I thought you’d really enjoy this book,” can quickly engage your clients and keep you at the forefront of their minds.

Find milestones in the customer relationship and find ways to reward them when they least expect it

These type of unexpected displays of appreciation could go a long way (especially in the social sharing world) to improve the experience your clients are having.

For example, if you are an attorney and you won the case for your client you can send them a nice reward as well. It shows that you aren’t just there as their attorney but you truly care about their wellbeing and you are here to help them. This is a nice touch that they don’t expect from a firm they pay.

Invite them to exclusive events

Inviting your clients to come together at a private event that you host is a great way to engage existing clients.

You can leverage social media to increase attendance, awareness, and brand recognition while creating emails leading up to the event as reminders as well.

On the other hand, you can sponsor relevant events within your community. Look at if there is a relevant event or seminar in your area and try and join the conversation. These events can be looking for sponsors or even for speakers. If they are looking for speakers, try and see if you can become one and show your expertise on the topic.
Distributing Business Cards or Flyers:

It may seem old school but something like this can still be beneficial.

Consider stopping by a local library and finding the section that relates to your practice areas and inserting them into the book someplace for the reader to come across when they get to that chapter.

Go to certain locations where your demographic or target audience lives such as local coffee shops and bakeries and give them your card or flyers to hang on their board.

This is highly targeted offline impression advertising.

Ask for referrals and introductions

Reach out to existing clients and ask them for referrals and introductions. This is a great opportunity to re-engage clients you haven’t connected with in a while and get them thinking about all the great outcomes they’ve enjoyed from working with you.

It might be an added bonus that you’ll walk away with some great leads for new prospects as a result.

There are certain tools such as Get Ambassador can make this easy as well.

As you can see there are many different ways that you can attract, engage and retain your clients when it comes to offline activities. Face to Face communication is not dead yet, so let’s embrace it.

What are you doing to maintain a positive relationship with your clients?

Renata Sandor
PEDCO AG
Renata Sandor is a Marketing Director and has a Masters degree in Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University. Her expertise in marketing has afforded her the opportunity to become a marketing expert for startups and small businesses.

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