Out of sight, out of mind. 6 action steps for engaging and retaining your virtual clients.

The value of virtual clients cannot be ignored. Operators that have already opened their virtual doors to this market are realizing the positive impact they have on business growth and the significant revenue stream they provide. In fact, Scott Chambers with Pacific Workspaces recently shared at the GCUC conference in Salt Lake City that 33% of their revenues come from virtual clients.

But when you aren’t face-to-face, it can be challenging to stay top of mind and you can run the risk of losing them. That’s why you need an effective communication strategy to stay in touch with your virtual clients. Because when you do stay in touch, you will increase retention and add significant customer lifetime value.

Let’s face it, we all want to be kept in the loop, don’t we? If your customers, virtual or otherwise, feel they’re being ignored, taken for granted or don’t appreciate the full gamut of services that you provide, there are plenty of competitors waiting in the wings to lure them away. But with regular contact, across a variety of platforms such as email marketing, your socials and events, you can stay in touch and add value which, over time, builds long-term loyalty.

6 action steps to stay in touch with your virtual customers.

At iPostal1, we know only too well that there are many new and amazing opportunities to engage virtual customers. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of proven practices based on our own successful strategies to stay in touch.

1. A great welcome letter.
   From day one, you can begin to build trust and add value with your new virtual customers via an impactful  welcome email shortly after they sign up. This will demonstrate your commitment to the levels of service you promised in the sales process and set expectations for future CX.

   Since most of your virtual clients have signed up to have a mailing address, you should begin by reminding them of the full mailing address, including mailbox number, if this applies. Review the optional mailing services you offer as well as pricing and timing requirements for outgoing mail and processing requests. The fewer surprises your clients have, the better. Advise what they should do if they need any assistance or if problems arise. Clearly state the contact details for support and ensure they are regularly updated if things change. We’d also recommend adding more than one way to contact your team just in case email is down or phone lines are busy.

   Finally, express your thanks and appreciation, tailoring each email with their name to demonstrate a personalized service and reiterate your intention of providing exceptional service to build long-term relations. 

   You should do this for both the virtual clients that you sign up yourself as well as the virtual clients that partners like iPostal1 send to you, customizing a template version of your welcome letter for each vendor you may be working with.

   Brian Monson, Office Evolution Carmel, shared the impact of sending a well-designed welcome email.

   “The partnership between iPostal1 and Office Evolution of Carmel started in 2019. Being new to the virtual office space I didn't exactly know what to expect, but assumed that those interested in a Carmel business address would stretch across the US. It was interesting to learn that several of our initial customers were from the local Indianapolis area.

   These initial customers did not fully understand the relationship between iPostal1, their virtual mailbox, and Office Evolution of Carmel, their physical mailbox location. I decided to write a "welcome" email explaining the relationship and sent it to customers. The volume of questions immediately dropped.

   Establishing a relationship with each of my new customers via email reduced confusion and saved me the hassle of subsequent calls related to my portion of the process. I was sure to include what the customer had purchased, and who to contact for different scenarios. Virtual mail is not complex if you have a basic understanding of the pieces and how they fit together.”

   — Brian Monson, Office Evolution of Carmel, IN

2. Create an onboarding email sequence.

   Sending a series of emails in quick succession is a more meaningful way to welcome, educate and engage the client, demonstrating they are valued and have now become part of ‘the family’.

   Think about creating a sequence of educational and informative emails including:

   • Reminder of the benefits and features they’ve signed up for

   • Details on how various services work or how to access them

   • What to expect from us over the next few months

   • What to do if you have questions

   • FAQ now that you’re all signed up

   • Who to contact if things go wrong or have an urgent inquiry

   • Focus on certain benefits that may be under-utilized

   • Refer-a-friend voucher code

3. Ask for feedback and leave a review.

   After the first month of your new customers using your service, this is the ideal time to ask them for feedback. You can send a quick questionnaire via email with a few carefully constructed questions to ensure they’re happy with the service so far and what they think of their onboarding experience. Not only is this the ideal opportunity for you to fix any issues before they become a big problem, but this is also hugely valuable data that you can use to develop future messaging and services for the business.

   You can also use this opportunity to ask them to post a Google review.

4. Inform them about other services that may be of value to them.

   Many of our clients use their regular comms to let virtual clients know of other great services that they could use. For example:

   • Virtual assistant that can assist remotely with admin, accounts etc.

   • Virtual receptionist so you never miss another client call again.

   • Virtual IT dept to help you manage your tech remotely.

   • Virtual networking so they never feel isolated or alone working from home, but always have access to a supportive network of other remote business owners.

5. The monthly newsletter.

   What’s happening at your workspace? A regular newsletter is a great way for your virtual clients to stay up-to-date and informed about what’s coming up in your workspace. This could include events, party nights, outings, talks, webinars, or lunch and learns. Consider holding Zoom virtual social events for those who may live too far away to attend an event at your location.

6. The one where they need Help?

   This is a very important communication piece. Sending out a regular reminder of what to do if problems arise or you need help urgently – it’s also helpful to suggest they keep this email somewhere safe yet easily accessible so they have it to hand. 

   When working with partners, delineate the kinds of questions or issues that should be directed to the partner and those that should be directed to you. iPostal1 provides such a list in the Support section of its customer interface.

Building loyal relationships with your customer, virtual or otherwise, through engaging, regular communications, will add significant customer lifetime value. It will enable you to grow your business and increase profitability through improved retention and more referrals. 

As we’ve suggested, start with simple, friendly, value-add emails that welcome your virtual clients. Engage them in ways that make them feel that, despite the distance between you, they’re still part of a community that values their business and their feedback. 

Once you’ve got the basics right in terms of welcome letters, you can start to build a more comprehensive and meaningful communication strategy by using the 6 action steps we’ve suggested. When you’re confident it’s working (you’ll know if you track and measure virtual client retention), you can add new ideas based on team insights and client feedback. Before you know it, the only thing that will be ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ are your competitors.