Ghosting has long been a danger in romantic relationships. In recent years, it has become increasingly common in business situations as well. This can spark particular frustration in a sales situation when a seemingly promising discussion suddenly ends in dead air.
The term “ghosting” refers to an abrupt termination of a conversation. You don’t get a “yes” or “no” from a customer or potential customer. They simply stop communicating. Beyond the normal irritation that comes from rejection, you are faced with an added element of confusion and uncertainty. What happened?
The truth is ghosting is often the end result of a longer process. If you look over the situation a little closer, you’ll likely recall moments when your customer seemed to be pulling away before the sharp break at the end. Preventing ghosting, then, requires a longer-term view.
Once you’ve been ghosting, it’s tough to renew the conversation. However, there are steps you can take earlier in the process that can lower the chances that it will come to that point. With that in mind, here are some steps you can take to keep customers in the loop and avoid ghosting:
Avoiding Ghosting with Your Customers
Stay Connected
Ghosting isn’t always a malicious act. Often, it’s the sign of a relationship that has already become distant. To avoid this, keep up regular contact with your customers (and your prospective customers). This can minimize the chance that you’ll get ghosted.
If too much time passes between conversations, you can fall off a client’s radar. They lose the incentive to be responsive to any attempts you make to re-establish a dialog. From their perspective, they might consider that you ghosted them.
Routinely Provide Upgrades and Offers
We noted above that you should maintain routine contact with your customers to lower the chances of eventual ghosting. You need to be careful with this strategy. You don’t want to spam a customer — come on too strong, and you could trigger the very ghosting you’re attempting to prevent.
What’s the best way to avoid this trap? Find ways to provide value for your customers. Frequent upgrades and offers give you an excuse to maintain contact. At the same time, it shows your client base the advantages you can provide.
Provide Other Value
Offering periodic deals gives clients and potential clients a financial incentive to return your calls. However, this is only one potential strategy. You can also develop a closer connection by offering other forms of value.
One of these involves becoming a connector. If you act as a nexus for other potential business connections, it incentivizes clients to stay close to you. By having a high profile in your industry, you turn yourself into a player who can’t be ignored.
Another potential strategy centers on building wide-ranging partnerships with other providers. This lets you provide combination offerings that give you a unique position in the market. This added value makes you difficult to disregard.
Form a Personal Connection
It’s relatively easy to ghost a vendor. It’s hard to do the same to a friend. By connecting with your customers on a more personal level, you make sure they want to stay connected. Even if the business relationship gets strained at some point, a friendship will encourage them to return your messages.
See How Partnering with Frontline Can Help Your Business Grow!
Building a strong relationship with your customers starts with offering sterling reliability. You want to always be there for your clients. Partnering with Frontline Funding can offer you the financial flexibility you need to secure your cash flow and remain stable for everyone in your orbit, from customers to employees.
Contact Frontline today to find out more.
