← Back to Running a business

The Library / Running a business

Practical guide / Free to read

Follow through with customers.

Give each request a clear next action, keep the promise in view, and record what happens.

Start with a request you recognize

A follow-up begins when a conversation leaves something to do, confirm, or return to. Keep the customer, the request, and your next action together so you can pick up the thread without reconstructing the conversation.

Use a name or reference that lets you find the right context. Keep only the details needed to do the work. Record the useful parts of the interaction and any feedback you need to follow through on.

Background: Digital.gov: How to conduct an interview

Separate the promise from the next action

What the customer expects and what you need to do next are often different. A customer may expect a repair price by Friday; your next action may be to check a part price with a supplier on Thursday. Record both so the internal task does not hide the promise.

Write an action you can recognize as done: check the supplier response, answer the outstanding question, or confirm the agreed delivery window. A broad intention such as ‘look after this customer’ gives less help when you return to the list.

Waiting still has a next step

Name the response, information, or person you are waiting for. Then decide what you will do next and when you will check again. You may need to update the customer even when the answer has not arrived.

The Waiting view keeps these dependencies visible. A waiting item can also be overdue or due today. The views overlap because they answer different questions: where the work stands and when you planned to return to it.

Use the date as a review aid

Today and Overdue use the ‘Reviewing as of’ date shown above the list. This week means Monday through Sunday around that date, so it can include an earlier overdue action. Needs a date keeps undated actions visible.

When you reopen an older file, check its review date. Use ‘Use today’ to bring the views forward. Dates organize the list; the planner does not send notifications or contact customers. Decide when you will actually return to review it.

Record the outcome, then decide what follows

After a conversation, a response, or a useful change, record the date and what happened. Distinguish an attempt from an outcome: leaving a message is different from receiving an answer. Choose another action, wait with a next check, or finish the request.

Connect what the customer said with what you have agreed to do. Keep their experience separate from your interpretation when the reason behind it is still unclear. Record the response and the next commitment together.

Background: Digital.gov: How to conduct an interview

Keep enough history to pick the work up again

Each recorded update keeps your note with the action and status before and after it. You can correct the note or its date without rewriting those recorded actions. Direct edits to the working fields are not added to this history; use ‘Record an update’ when you want to keep what happened.

Finishing a follow-up means that this request needs no further action. It does not mean a sale was made. Completed items retain their updates, and you can reopen one by recording an update with a new next action.

One plan holds up to fifty follow-ups, with twenty recorded updates per follow-up. Keep a downloaded copy before starting another plan or continuing a longer history in a new record.

Make the next review small enough to do

Begin with overdue actions and today's commitments. Check waiting responses, then look for items that still need a date or more detail. Choose a realistic action and owner for the work you can move forward.

Keep agreed communication preferences in mind when deciding how and when to contact someone. A useful follow-up serves the request; repeated contact without a reason does not improve the record.

Download the reusable file before closing the page. It keeps unfinished records and history so you can continue later. Text and PDF copies include the whole plan, including items hidden by the current view or search. Use the Weekly Review to choose which commitments fit alongside your other work.

Try it in your own situation

Give one request a useful place to return to

  1. Name a customer or reference and the request that needs attention.
  2. Record what the customer is expecting, including any agreed date.
  3. Choose the next action and when you will take it or check again.
  4. If waiting, name the response or information you need.
  5. After something happens, record the outcome and choose what follows.
  6. Download the plan and choose when you will review it again.

Keep exploring.

Have a useful first customer conversation. Explore Running a business
Sources and further reading

Original Brass Charter examples and exercises, with background reading from the sources below.

Keep your open draft?

Continuing will discard your unsaved changes. You can return to the draft and save or download it first.