How NOT to talk to customers

Also: 5 sites for marketing inspiration & ideas

Marketing Qualified
June 02, 2023

In this week’s newsletter:

The wrong way to talk to customers (and the right way). Don’t ghost your customers after they purchase. Do this instead.
5 sites for when you need marketing inspiration. Writer's block? No good ideas? No problem. Check out these sites if you need to get your creative juices flowing.

👎 The wrong way to talk to customers (and the right way).

Most B2B companies do customer communication completely wrong. Especially for enterprise-level deals. It usually looks something like this:

How most B2B companies communicate with customers

A prospect discovers the brand. The brand ramps up communication with the prospect trying to get them to purchase.

Eventually, they do purchase. And then… nothing. The brand ghosts them.

The company got what it wanted and so it stops communicating with its customer.

Over the next several months or years, maybe there are a few sporadic emails or calls. But for the most part, there’s no contact from sales or marketing.

That is until sales/marketing needs to hit a quota or revenue goal. Then it’s like the floodgates open. The brand tries to contact the customer any way they can — email, phone, text message, LinkedIn, mail, carrier pigeon. Ok, maybe not that last one. But if someone thought it would work, we guarantee they’d try it!

It’s a horrible customer experience.

Think about it this way. Let’s say you meet a new friend. You grow close over a few months and talk to them a few times a week. Then all of a sudden, you stop hearing from them. They’re silent for over a year. Then right around the New Year, they reach out and ask if you can give them some money.

Would you do it?

Of course not!

But that scenario is exactly like what many B2B companies do to their customers every day. And if someone wouldn’t let a friend treat them like that, they surely won’t let a company do it.

The right way to communicate with customers.

There’s a better way. And the good news is, it’s simple.

It looks like this:

How B2B companies should communicate with customers

After the customer makes a purchase, all you need to do is keep talking to them. Have a semi-regular communication cadence.

For example, send them a weekly email with educational content. Give them a call every few months to check in and see what’s new with their business. Share updates on what’s happening with your business. Etc.

Keep the door open.

During these interactions, keep an ear to the ground. If they start showing signs of an opportunity for a repurchase or an upsell, ramp up how frequently you communicate with them.

Once they do buy again, repeat this cycle.

If you do this, your customers will be happier, you’ll build stronger relationships with them, and they’ll be more likely to buy from you again and again.