Communications: The Art Of The RFU
My business partner, Todd, shot a hole-in-one in April. The other day I saw this certificate he received from the PGA laying out at work and the following conversation ensued.
You should totally blog about this. (Something we ripped off from How I Met Your Mother and say N times a day.)
Yeah, but what does that have to do with the science of marketing?
You can use it as an RFU.
Oh.
An RFU, or Random Follow Up, is a technique we use to reconnect with customers, prospects, partners and former colleagues. The RFU goes beyond broadcast communications, such as newsletters, and uses personal and targeted information to reach out and stay top of mind. The art of it is 1.) finding out what people are passionate about – personally as well as professionally, 2.) knowing when, and when not, to reach out so you don’t overwhelm your contacts, and 3.) relaying the item of interest without asking for anything.
Some examples of events to use in an RFU are:
- URLs to Industry news – Beth, you might be interested in this…
- Company news – Joe, congratulations on your award.
- Sporting events – Nikos, it doesn’t look like the Yankees are going to make the play-offs.
- Personal – Naomi, I saw your son made the honor roll. Congratulations!
As it turns out, Todd’s hole-in-one RFU didn’t yield any revenue (yet, anyway). But, it did get us a couple of rounds of golf. That’s an art, isn’t it?
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June 17th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Or maybe like suggesting golf balls instead of a Starbucks card for a prizewinner you know to be an avid golfer?
I agree totally with your point. My personal principle is that people are people before they are anything else, so you won’t go wrong relating to them that way. Naturally, it can’t be ingratiating or glad-handing, in a “congratulations on the new baby—got enough insurance” kind of way. Just picture a friend on the other end.
I think that applies to blog topics, too, like the hole-in-one (although I’m always tempted to make some light business point with it.) If someone is turned off because it’s not strictly business or a “white paper” level treatise, well — he or she probably wouldn’t like me anyway, and I’d be bored in return.
By the way, a couple rounds of golf is ROI after my own heart!
June 17th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Mike-
Exactly like that (feels like I threw you a softball right down the middle, to switch metaphors).
We typically like to kick off blog posts with everyday opening gambits that everyone will get and some will really like. And, hopefully, they actually tie into the point we are trying to make.
Keep me honest if we do *too much* golf (although I don’t know if there is any such thing). As always, thanks for reading.
-Jeff
June 17th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Just to weigh in on this one…there can never be enough golf. Talk about a softball!