Here at Gossett Marketing, our whole team has been focused on a big project for a major client for the past couple of weeks. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to expand our business with this particular company; however, it is taking up a lot of time and I worry that I am shortchanging some of my other accounts because I cannot currently give them my full attention. So, what am I going to do about it?
Well, for one thing, I cannot let The Big Project take over my whole day. Yes, it can have large chunks of my time, but I am making a concerted effort to dedicate a significant portion of every morning to my other customers. The bulk of The Big Project will be finished soon, so right now my focus is on keeping my other clients happy but not necessarily growing their business.
Once the majority of The Big Project is complete, I am going to set my sights on growing my other accounts. I haven’t been to the University of Miami Hospital in the New Year, so I am going to make an effort to bring them samples of new items on a regular basis. Whenever I visit their Marketing team, they seem to introduce me to new people within the organization, and that’s networking at its best – face to face referrals! I can’t let that kind of opportunity get away from me (plus, I just like to see them because they’re a lot of fun!).
It’s not as easy to just run over and see some of our other customers: while I wish I could make a trip to the Keys on a whim, I just can’t – darn! For customers who aren’t local like Mariners Hospital and Hermit Woods Winery, I will have to reconnect by sending them catalogs and then following up with the recipients in a timely manner. It isn’t ideal, but at least reaching out to them by mail and on the phone or e-mail will keep me, and our company, top of mind when they need promotional marketing products.
As I’ve said before, sometimes the best networking is that which you do with your existing customers, and once The Big Project is out of my hands I plan to do just that. I will be persistent – it’s not annoying – and build up those relationships once again!
Do you ever have Big Projects that keep your attention away from some customers? If so, what do you do? Please let us know in the comments below!
