There are lots of resources available to help you attract and convert new customers, but what about the ones you’ve already landed? Existing clientele is one of the most valuable assets your business can have. But what happens when those awesome customers stop calling? When months or years have gone by without any interaction? If you can find a way to re-engage these long-lost patrons, not only will you stand out from the competition, but you’ll probably generate more business in the process.

Send them some snail mail.

These days, consumers are bombarded on a daily basis with emails, digital ads, text messages and phone calls. What they’re getting less and less of, on the other hand, is good, old-fashioned snail mail. Sending a note (preferably hand-written, if possible) along with something of value, such as an interesting article or a coupon, can really go a long way toward strengthening that relationship and reigniting interest.

Stay in touch, but with a purpose.

Keeping in contact is important, but if you’re only reaching out with generic messages like: “Just wanted to say ‘hi’” or “Checking in to see what’s going on,” you’ll probably end up annoying your clients and driving them away. Make sure that when you pick up the phone or send an email, you’ve got something of substance to share. For instance, you might reach out to let them know about your latest product update, a new service you’re offering or a special deal that’s coming up.

Wish them well.

Getting to know your customers on a personal level is super important when it comes to retention. The information you gain – such as family dynamics, hobbies, birthdays and other important dates – can become invaluable when re-engaging. When a client sees that you remembered his or her birthday and took the time to wish them well, you’ll forge a much stronger bond. (Pro tip: Use your CRM to keep track of important dates and other details.)

Treat them to a bite.

If you really want to make a great impression, invite your top customers to breakfast or lunch. Offer to meet them close to where they live or work to make it as convenient as possible for them. You can use these brief meals as a way to find out what’s new with them and ensure that you and your business remain top-of-mind.

Host a customer appreciation event.

People love to feel special and inviting your customers to exclusive events is a great way to capitalize on this. If you don’t have the space at your place of business, rent a room at a local restaurant, hall or hotel and plan a gathering of your most valuable customers. Use the event to connect face-to-face, show your appreciation and share some industry news or insights. Hosting an event like this twice a year will ensure that you never lose touch with your clients for more than 6 months at a time.

Forbes lists existing customers as “the most under-tapped marketing opportunity,” and for good reason. Research indicates that it costs 5 times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. If you’re looking for a way to boost your revenue in 2019 and beyond, you may already be sitting on a goldmine. Give the tips above a try and see if you can’t drum up some new business in the process.

Big corporations aren’t the only ones that benefit from virtual teams. In fact, smaller businesses can enjoy many advantages by using distributed teams, including lower operating costs and the ability to tap into a global talent pool. And thanks to things like cloud technology and the growing number of freelance marketplaces, hiring and managing remote employees has never been easier. Of course, virtual teams do come with certain challenges. To overcome these struggles, here are a few best practices to keep in mind.

Consolidate

One of the biggest hurdles managers of distributed teams face is keeping everyone on the same page. Tools like emails, spreadsheets, shared project documents and group chats can get confusing when remote workers are all using different ones. This can open the door for mistakes, miscommunication and important things slipping through the cracks. Utilizing as few tools as possible and mandating that all virtual employees stick with those tools for their day to day work can help minimize these risks. It’ll also ensure maximum productivity, collaboration and efficiency.

Communicate Regularly

Not being located in the same physical location can cause a rift in communication with management as well as amongst coworkers. It’s up to the business leaders to ensure that all distributed team members stay in touch and engaged. With virtual teams, this often requires more effort from a communication standpoint. Daily check-ins and regular one-on-one and team meetings (via phone, online chat or video conferencing) will ensure that everyone stays connected, regardless of physical location.

Set Expectations

It can be harder to know what’s expected of you and what role you play in the overall success of a department or company when you’re not sitting in the office with everyone else. And when employees aren’t clear on these things, they can’t perform to their fullest potential. Eliminate ambiguity by setting clear and specific expectations with each remote worker. Make sure everyone knows exactly what they’re supposed to be working on and – more importantly – why their work is so important.

Differentiate Between Tasks and Projects

Certain activities require more team input and collaboration than others. For instance, developing a new design for the company website is something that will involve much more thought and coordination than performing data entry. Make it clear what each remote worker’s role is and which of the items on their to-do lists are tasks they can complete independently versus which ones you expect them to collaborate with others on. The clearer you are about this, the less room for confusion and delays.

Automate as Much as Possible

We’ve already established that communication and collaboration are important for virtual teams to be successful. Freeing up as much time as possible for your employees to be able to engage with one another makes it much easier and more likely that they’ll do so, and automation is the key to achieving that goal. Wherever possible, automate manual, repetitive tasks. Not only will this improve productivity and efficiency, but it’ll also enable your employees to focus their efforts on more meaningful work, which will, in turn, boost morale.

Without question, virtual teams can add tremendous value to a business – whether it’s just one department or an entire company that’s working remotely. As with any business initiative, however, this type of setup is not without its challenges. By putting the above tips into action, you can build and manage a virtual workforce that will drive your company forward in the right direction.

Let’s talk about meetings. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about meeting fatigue. Nearly two-thirds of professionals lose time every week due to unnecessary or cancelled meetings, according to The State of Meetings Report 2019, a survey by Doodle.

But try to run a business without any meetings, and you’ll soon have a new appreciation for those gatherings around the conference room table. Sometimes, there’s no better way to communicate than to get everyone in a room together, or at least on a conference call or Zoom meeting.

The trick is convening meetings only when necessary and running them efficiently. That way, everyone will still be able to get their work done. Here are some ideas on when, where and how to hold meetings for the best results.

Give people time to work.

Thanks to books like Cal Newport’s Deep Work, many professionals are making a concerted effort to set aside time to immerse themselves in the projects that matter. It’s tough to do that, though, if there are so many interruptions in everyone’s workday that no one can concentrate.

Set aside some time every week (or ideally every day) when people can hunker down and do what you’re paying them to do, without interruption. For instance, if you run a professional services firm, you might decide there will be no company or client meetings on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so everyone can focus on project work.

Team members will be more likely to bring their A-game to meetings if you’ve enabled them to get their other projects done. Otherwise, you’ll likely find them surreptitiously multitasking on their computer during your team pow-wows.

Create a quick daily ritual.

Setting aside seven to 10 minutes a day for your leadership team to meet can save you hours of emailing or digital chatting each day and prevent miscommunication. Ideally, hold this meeting in the morning, before everyone gets busy with the daily hustle. Among professionals surveyed in The State of Meetings Report 2019, 70% prefer to hold meetings between 8 am and noon.

Even better, have everyone stand up, so the meeting doesn’t drag on. A recent study found that 35% of American workers say most meetings last too long. Holding stand-up meetings is a good way to discourage people from droning on and on.

Save strategic meetings for one a month, quarter or year.

It’s hard to tackle monthly, quarterly, or annual planning in routine meetings. Set aside specific times when you will meet for an hour or two—or longer if needed—to do long-term strategic planning with your leadership team. In Doodle’s State of Meetings Report, two-thirds of professionals felt that meeting face to face is important to making good strategic decisions.

Make sure you set goals for the meeting ahead of time so team members come prepared. For instance, let’s say you’re expanding your B2B business from Chicago and Albany in the U.S. to the Canadian market this year and have already established a foothold in Toronto. Don’t wait until the next meeting to announce you want to focus on expanding into Montreal in your next discussion. Let your team know in advance, so they can do some homework related to their area of the business, whether that’s setting up the tech infrastructure for the new Montreal office or identifying the best way to market in Montreal.

Set aside time for R&D.

In the rush to get things done every day, your team may not have much time to brainstorm new products and services or better ways to do things. That means your business is not benefiting from their innovative ideas.

One of the best ways to tap into their creativity is to set aside some time to dream up ideas together to grow your business. To get your creative juices flowing, pick a different setting than your conference room, like a local park, or plan the meeting around a fun field trip, perhaps to a zoo, a national park in your area or an art museum. If it’s warm out, hold the meeting outside.  

Ask everyone to come prepared with ideas for innovations they’d like to bring to the business, appoint someone the record keeper and keep track of each idea you decide to act on, assigning it to an “owner” on your team and setting a date for the next steps. That way, all of the great ideas won’t get forgotten by the time you get back to the office. Holding a meeting like this once a quarter can yield huge dividends for your business.

Most of us don’t like meetings, but if you can figure out how to keep them purposeful and fun, you’ll be surprised at how much benefit they can bring to your business.