1.5 Your Customer Relationship Plan

Repeatedly communicate the value and benefits of your services to highly qualified prospects. Systems are put in place to manage through routines and administrative processes, allowing the system to take care of the basics while you put more energy into developing other areas of your business.

The Customer Relationship Plan - New Inquiries

Qualifying Prospects: Psychographics, demographics, locations, etc...What Qualifiers can help you identify your best prospects (See 1.3 Ideal Guest Relationships)?  

How do your web site and web promotion activities help your potential guests qualify themselves so you spend most of your time and money with your ideal guests? ie. Headline, price points.

Response readiness:  The increase in inquiries you will be handling by implementing strategies from this tutorial will require you to have a system to manage new inquiries. 

Outline a strategy for managing your new relationships from first inquiry to follow-up after their visit. 

• Build rapport and clarify their interest.

• Ask, "What is your dream for this experience?"

• Focus on efficiency.

• Provide multiple communications options for each step.

• Automate where possible, use the web.

• Track the source of the inquiry, including "What words and images resonated with you?"

• Include data management.

• Ensure consistency.

• Personalize communications as much as possible.

• Express the value of staying in touch.

• Seed the value of a future visit early in your communications.

• Use preferred timelines.

• Generate excitement upon registration.

• Determine the proper mix of hard copy and virtual information.

• Build credibility

• Provide promotional materials that are used near a computer.

• Provide answers to questions before they are asked.

• Get feedback on your services.

• Invite guests into a deeper relationship

• Record information outside of name, address.... listen for what you can do to give value added.

• Check back to confirm information meets their needs.

• Give a clear call to action to close the sale or enter into a longer term relationship.

Long Term Relationship Management: Use a calendar to plan an ideal CRM plan for the year based on what you've done in the past.  How often will you communicate with people in your database? What strategies provide the best feedback from your database?

What are the steps you take to manage your guest relationships once they are in your database?

How could you make better use of the web to manage your guest relationships?

Each interaction you have with a potential guest should provide value.

Browse through your web site and make a list of each unique URL that you can provide to give relationship enhancing info to your guests.  ie: meet our staff at Northern Edge Algonquin

Describe an enhanced plan for managing new inquiries, and maintaining existing relationships.  Make sure everyone in your organization is aware of the renewed strategy.