5 Ways to Stay Top of Mind

What is “Top of Mind”?

Staying top of mind means being remembered.

When something is triggered in our minds we remember something about it. For instance, driving by a certain building might trigger us to remember that we need to buy something or make an appointment.

Businesses use many different services and products. So, we may be approached by sales people who want us to buy from them.

Think about the last time you made a purchased.

• Who did you buy from?
• Did you buy it from someone who had been maintaining regular contact with you? Someone you’ve grown to know, like and trust that you remembered?
• Or did you just “google it” and do your research online to find what you wanted?

Can you relate to this?

Some time ago, I discovered that one of my clients was boasting about how much they enjoyed working with me and raved about my support services.

Later, they forgot about me!

We had worked closely together on a short project and a few months later, we bumped into each other. “Oh!” she said. “We had a web design project that would’ve been perfect for you.

I’m so sorry we didn’t think about you. We already hired someone else.”

Yikes! Those words felt like a punch in the stomach. I was disappointed, to say the least, but learned a great lesson!

I had failed to stay top of mind – and lost out on new business.

Who should keep you Top of Mind?

Everyone in business needs to have a plan of how they are going to stay top of mind with their current customers, past customers, referral sources, suppliers and prospects.

Basically, stay in touch with anyone who has anything to do with your business. Buyers, prospects or suppliers.

When should you stay Top of Mind?

Most businesses think that it’s good enough to re-connect once a year. They might send out a Holiday Card or if it’s a regular customer, they might give them a call and ask them for an order.

This is not building a relationship and won’t keep you top of mind.

Nurturing relationships requires consistency and a personal touch.

Start by selecting your top 100 people that you want to hear from you at least 6 times a year. These could be referral partners, customers, and vendors.

After you choose them, create a new stay in touch campaign every year. To go above and beyond do something 12 times a year and watch the referrals flow in.

Why you should stay Top of Mind.

Being remembered should be more about how you are going to build a relationship with people. What you can give to them, rather than what you can get from them.

Relationship marketing has become a very popular subject lately, but it’s been around for a long time. How well you connect with and remember your network will show how successful you will be.

Referrals can be the lifeblood for many businesses. When you stay top of mind, you increase your chances of being referred.

How to stay Top of Mind

1 – Follow Up After Networking

Don’t forget the power of in-person networking and connecting with people in your network, your sphere of influence. A bonus is that you also get to meet new people.

The reason you should go to networking events is not always for you. It could be for others who would like to get to know you.

Networking events are not where you go to sell. The primary reason to network is to get to know people and build relationships. There should be an element of fun for everyone.

Always follow-up after a networking event!

What happens after a networking event? Most of us end up with a pocket full of business cards. The cards themselves won’t do anything for your business unless you do the work.

A smart networker will have a CRM they use to keep information about your contacts organized. This allows you to easily follow-up.

It’s hard to know what to say after having spent time together at an event so start with “it was nice to meet you” or “it was nice seeing you again” and be sure to mention the event. Follow up as soon after the event as possible.

Our systems have taken care of this for you allowing you to concentrate on adding contacts to your list.

Ways to Follow-Up

Phone
Text
Social Media Post
Email Marketing
Send a Card (my personal favorite)

The best way to follow-up after connecting with someone is to send them a personal, heartfelt greeting card in the mail.

Who sends those anymore, you might ask. That’s exactly why you should.

This will set you apart from everyone else and if you include a personal photo of them without selling or promoting yourself, they will not soon forget you!

Make the time to regularly stay in touch with prospects and clients.

2 – Send useful and beneficial information.

To stay in touch with customers and prospects, many businesses send a monthly email newsletter. Today it may be called a Blog Post article that can be sent by connecting your Blog to Email.

Whatever communication format you decide to use, you must ensure the content you send will be valuable to them. This is a good reason to segment your email marketing list.

If the information is not helpful, is full of sales pitches, or arrives too frequently, they may feel harassed or overwhelmed and will unsubscribe from your list.

3 – Send Announcements & Invitations.

Don’t forget to send out announcements to your list. It could be that you started offering a new service or product in your business. Let the important people know.

It doesn’t have to be a big sales pitch. Sometimes just sending a “Hey, we now offer___ . Come by when you can and check it out”.

Invite everyone whenever you go to the trouble of having an event. It could be a party, a seminar, special presentation. Whatever it is get the word out.

4 – Celebrate Special Moments

The longer we are in business the more opportunities we have to build strong relationships with many people in our network. Most of us will celebrate the obvious holidays together and we should continue doing that.

There are times when we should go the extra mile and share appreciation, gratitude, celebration and yes sometimes sadness. Sending a greeting card in the mail telling someone you do business with a heartfelt sentiment.

• Happy Birthday
• Congratulations on your new baby
• Enjoy your beautiful new home
• Sorry for your loss
• Can’t believe you have a daughter going to college

Include a picture and a sentiment that does not sell will be appreciated more than you know.

5 – Use Automation

Your goal should be to not only to be remembered but also to remember people!

When strategizing how to stay in touch with your prospects and clients you can find creative ways to communicate with them, both online and offline.

Here’s a fun way to get started:

Brainstorm and list multiple ways you could stay in touch with clients including outlandish, way-out ideas.

Now review your list. Do a few unique ideas pop out? Ideas that will help you stand out from the crowd, have reasonable return on investment, and meet your audience’s needs?

In Conclusion