Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

When did you last thank your spouse for the hot cup of coffee waiting for you in the morning, or the extra hour you got to sleep in over the weekend? When did you last tell your coworkers how much you appreciate them and what a great job they’re doing (or at least how hard they’re trying)? When did you last thank your customers for their business, loyalty, return patronage, and/or referrals?

Acknowledgment bridges the chasm between everything that happens when we convince someone to buy something from us and what happens next. It’s a sad and universal truth that the very second the sale is complete, all genuine empathy and service seem to go out the window. That overeager and attentive salesperson turns his or her back on you and refers you to some peon in technical support or customer service—or worse, lobs an 800 number or web site address in your general direction. If you’re feeling just a little guilty right about now, fret not; you’re certainly not alone.

Acknowledging our customers affirms their importance to us and places both tangible (the purchase itself) and intangible (future business) value on them. It is the first step in a new continuum that anticipates future interactions between company and customer, both monetary and otherwise (insights).

On the flip side, our customers enter a phase where they’re craving acknowledgment, from us, others, and themselves. They want to know they’re important, that they made the right decision, and that their ...