Acello Media: How to Retain Your Most Valuable Asset – Your Clients

Keep your current clients satisfied and content!

In this volatile economic climate, client retention has never been more important for businesses than it is right now. Each client is recognized as a critical asset that could make or break some companies.

Businesses spend millions of dollars to attract new clients, but retaining the ones they have is essential for the success of any business.

No one knows this better than Acello Media Solutions and that is why they are sharing their top 5 Client Retention tips.

Do your homework – learn about their business
Having a knowledge and understanding of your clients and their needs is crucial. Find out about each company’s vision and mission, goals and objectives and desired outcomes. Attend meetings and planning sessions with them. Find out what they want, what exactly is it they seek from you and how they want it given to them. Implement the ideas that works for you. This will establish a mutual connection and help you to cater to their needs more effectively.

Focus on existing customer’s needs – value them
It is crucial to focus your time and resources on better serving your existing clients. Go deeper instead of wider. Make your existing customers the number one priority and ensure their needs are catered too. Nurture your customer relationship by consistently treating all customers with respect and honesty; this will encourage cross selling, up selling and referrals.

Provide superior customer service and support
Customer service should be considered more of an investment than an expense. Companies that have had a reputation for outstanding customer service have achieved high successes in the past. Paying special attention to complaints and compliments of existing clients, helps provide a positive customer experience, loyalty and a long-term relationship. Customer complaints can also be used to bring about new ideas and ways to improve your product or service.

Not all customers are equal and providing profitable ones with a dedicated support line can be a good investment. Employees should be trained to meet the client’s needs by answering questions, receiving comments and handling complaints. Retention is the key – it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.

Develop customer loyalty programs
Loyalty programs can be used for outstanding customer retention, where your long-term clients are rewarded through gifts, services or discounts. Clients like to feel as if they are being rewarded for choosing your company. After all everyone likes a special discount or free gifts!

Feedback is Critical
Feedback is a reflection of your product or service. Client’s feedback provides and excellent learning opportunity. Both the client and company can benefit from it if taken constructively. Companies should actively socialize with their clients and gather feedback.

Clients are always right even if they’re wrong. Therefore, take both positive and negative comments constructively. If a client contacts you with a complaint, ensure that they receive top priority. Troubleshoot the issue and try to reach a satisfactory agreement for everyone. Feedback can easily be done through the company’s website, blog, social media sites or through an email. Make the customer feel valued by involving them with every step and valuing their input.

In today’s challenging business environment, retaining your client gives you the competitive edge. If you don’t give them reasons to stay, your competitors will likely take them away from you. Client retention is all about keeping the client you’ve worked hard to acquire, maintaining a strong bond with them and make them come back to you again and again. It drives profits for the business and is far less expensive than attracting new ones.

Grandparents Plugging into the Social Media Matrix

Decode the social media matrix with Acello Media

It seems that the matrix is seeping into the baby boomer culture. No seriously, more than 20% of grandparents over the age of 60 have joined the world of social media.

Seniors were asked, “Do you have an account on any social networking websites?” An astounding 22% of grandparents over 60 said YES and the overwhelming majority of them are on Facebook! 71% of those who said yes, say they are living to good life of Facebook.

Since we’re spitting out so many stats, 68% of those who joined social media sites, have done so in just the last year! More than half of those who recently joined said they did so with the urging of the younger generation.

Hey kids, be careful for what you wish for. Do really want your grandparents reading about some of the whacky stuff you post on your Facebook page? Just a thought.

Critical Steps for Building Solid Relationships with Journalists

Use Acello Media Solutions to promote your brand.

All solid relationships with reporters takes time and effort, and that holds especially true with the field of public relations. One critical element is making sure that you target the right reporters and publications for the maximum buzz potential for each release. Building relationships with journalists is a key step in helping each business get the most mileage possible out of every new release.

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The public relations experts strongly suggest that each business follow these critical steps for establishing and fostering fruitful relationships with journalists.

1. Know your target

Read up on what the journalist you’re targeting has written to find out what he or she covers. Understand what is interesting to that individual journalist’s audience. Don’t waste time pitching on a topic unrelated to their beat.

2. Know your client

Before you start reaching out, become the resident expert on your client and the issues that you’ll be discussing. The more knowledgeable you are, the better your chances of establishing strong connections with journalists.

3. Get to the point

The first questions during your initial call to a journalist should include:

• Are you on deadline?

• Do you have a minute to talk?

• If they do have time, explain why your article and client may be of interest to them, quickly and succinctly.

4. Who are you? Identify yourself:

Get to know your journalists–take notes and keep a file on each person. What do they value? Information? Insight? News tips? Story ideas? Press releases or exclusives only? Do they prefer face-to-face meetings, e-mail or phone? What are their deadline pressures?

5. Altruism helps

Put that knowledge of their likes and dislikes to use. Call with a story tip you’ve heard about, even if it’s not about your client. Suggest story angles they may not have considered. Send an interesting link. Compliment them on their big stories.

6. Deliver the goods

When a journalist is seeking information or an interview, do everything in your power to get them what they need, and quickly. Failing to respond to a journalist on deadline is inexcusable.

7. Cast a wide net

Always be on the lookout for new journalists to contact by tracking the media coverage of your client’s industry.

8. Keep after it, Tenacity Pays

Once your research has established that a particular journalist should be interested in your client, be persistent, but not annoying. Following up weekly, but don’t be too intrusive.

New Study: Social Media Linked to Surge in Restaurant Sales

Acello Media understands the unharnessed power of Social Media (click image above)

A recent study shows that consumer spending is strongly influenced by social media. The study conducted by Ogilvy and ChatThreads, says that social media led to increased spending and actually enhanced the impact of other forms of advertising.

Those exposed to social media were more likely to increase spending and or consumption than those who were not. The study used various QSR’s (quick service restaurants) to gauge the results.

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The study compared those who engage in social media against those who have no exposure at all. It also studies the relationship between social media and other forms of marketing including billboards and television ads.

Social Media Impact:

• Consumers are 7x more likely to spend more at KFC

• When coupled with television ads, consumers are 2x more likely to increase consumption at Wendy’s

• When coupled with billboards, consumers are 2x more likely to increase consumption or spend more at QSRs

• When coupled with news stories or editorials, consumers spend 17% more week over week than people who were not exposed