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Are You Giving Your Customers Enough Reasons To Return To Your Business?

Copyright 2007 by Karin Manning
 

Good customer service just isn't enough anymore in the marketplace in which we live. Times are changing and business owners are learning that they need to create such an awesome customer loyalty program that they are always at the forefront of their customers' minds on a regular basis.

To compete in today's global marketplace you need to stand out from the crowd - be better than your competitors, be faster than your competitors and, more importantly -

BE MORE MEMORABLE THAN YOUR COMPETITORS!

Your success in business depends upon your ability to change.

Customers in 2003 are more demanding, more intelligent, and have more choices than ever before when it comes to where they spend their money and how often they spend it. Wouldn't you rather it was your business and not your competitor's?

You need to work smarter, not harder, and devote your time and energy on the things that count....

Building greater customer loyalty that will grow your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...even while you sleep.

Become important in your global marketplace and you will be rewarded by being at the forefront of your customers' minds and receiving endless referrals to your business.

Create a memorable experience in the minds of your prospects and customers and you will benefit for a lifetime.

If you want to make a second, third, fifth and twelfth sale you must create an incredible customer service experience that your customers will talk about forever.

The quality of your customer service will be remembered long after the price they paid is forgotten.

If you want to drastically increase your number of visitors to customers and your customers to ongoing repeat customers you need to make contact with them as often as possible.

Marketing gurus tell us that if you are not in touch with your customers every six weeks they're not really your customers, but people who your competitors are continually trying to lure away from you and your business.

WHOSE POCKETS DO YOU WANT YOUR CUSTOMERS TO FILL...YOURS OR YOUR COMPETITORS?

Create a point of difference that is so original that sets you apart from your competitors your customers wouldn't dream of doing business with anyone else.

If your customers don't see you as being different from your competition they will always make their buying decision based on price alone

Send The Right Message To Your Marketplace!

Follow up is one of the most critical elements of any business. It is vital to follow up at all times: your prospects, your customers, your affiliates.

Did you know on average it takes 7-12 follow ups for a person to buy from you so you MUST contact them regularly on an ongoing basis.

Look at these alarming statistics provided by the National Sales Association:

2% of sales are made on 1st contact.
3% of sales are made on 2nd contact.
5% of sales are made on 3rd contact.
10% of sales are made on 4th contact.
80% OF SALES ARE MADE ON 5TH-12TH CONTACT.
The three areas of follow up are:

(1) PROSPECTS

Offer a free report, training course, ebook or newsletter so you can keep contact with those who don't buy on the first visit.

(2) CUSTOMERS

By keeping in constant touch with your customers you'll create so many happy and satisfied customers they will refer you to their friends. Happy customers are informed customers, less likely to ask for a refund and more likely to buy from you again.

(3) AFFILIATES

If you want income-producing affiliates you must give them the latest tips, techniques, training and motivation with constant follow up.

Once your business grows there's no way you can follow up with your prospects, customers and affiliates by hand so you MUST set up your automated system from the beginning or as soon as you can.

*****ONCE IT'S SET UP IT RUNS WITH NO FURTHER INPUT FROM YOU*****

Thankfully in recent times companies have become aware of how important client follow up is and they have created autoresponders (automatic messages/emails) for this purpose to put your business on autopilot.

TIP: Avoid using free autoresponders as they usually include advertising for other people's products (sidetracking people away from your offer and helping you to look unprofessional. Remember, in business how you are perceived by your customers means everything!)

Once your system is in place you fill it with the emails that will go out automatically once someone subscribes or is subscribed automatically!

SAMPLE FOR PROSPECTS:-

Message (1) Free information you promised (immediate delivery)
Message (2) More great information about the initial product (one day after message 1)
Message (3) Mix in information about your product with free information (one day after message 2)
Message (4) Start to sell your product while giving more information (one day after message 3)
Message (5) More free information and how they will benefit from buying your product or service (one day after message 4).
 

SAMPLE FOR CUSTOMERS:

Message (1) Thank them for their order and let them know they can contact you if they need any help (immediate delivery)
Message (2) Thank them again and give them a free bonus (one day after message 1)
Message (3) Send a short note to say you are offering them another free bonus and ask how they are enjoying the product (seven days after message (2)
Message (4) Send a short note saying you hope they are enjoying the product and that you thought they might be interested a complimentary product....(seven days to one month after message (1)
If you haven’t got autoresponders in place it’s not too late. Give your customers a reason to return to your business by keeping in contact with them and you’ll be am*zed at the results you’ll achieve. Have fun!

About the Author

Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved. Karin Manning. Karin is the publisher of Net Wealth, an interactive newsletter for advanced internet veterans, entrepreneurs and beginners alike. To start receiving your weekly marketing, motivational, customer service and money tips visit http://www.reprintrights4u.com and fill out the popup on entry with details of your ePackage & bonus newsletter subscription & free gifts.
karin@reprintrights4u.com 

5 Ways to Encourage Impulse Purchases

I just bought six square pieces of spongy fabric for $20 and walked away happy - "victim" of an impulse purchase.

I was at one of those big show events and walked past a demonstration booth. I even knew it was coming. About 50% of the people walking out were carrying two bright yellow cylinder-things.

As we walked toward the convention center, I told Tim (my other half), "There's one of those guys with a microphone in there, doing a demonstration. He gets people so excited they think they have to buy those things. They over-pay then never use them." I said this a bit smugly. I know of such things, so I wouldn't succumb.

Yeah, right. This guy was good. So good, I came away with five ideas for increasing sales from impulse purchases. Next time you evaluate short-term sales and marketing strategies, think about and apply these five impulse purchase lessons...

Impulse Purchase Lesson 1: Demonstrate an impressive, relevant feature.

If the product is chocolate, sold at a retail checkout stand, you have no need for this one. Human nature takes over. When you are selling unrecognizable cylinder things, people need some encouragement.

You would never know it to look at them, but these things were super absorbent shammies. They can suck 8 - 10 ounces of soda out of your carpet in nothing flat AND it makes for an impressive demonstration. When the demonstrator mentioned they could dry a sweater in three hours, I was hooked. Never mind we have about two spills a year in my house and I don't own any "lay flat to dry" sweaters.

This ability to get people to "live in the moment" is one key to a successful impulse purchase demonstration. The salesperson has a lot to do with it, of course. Repetition of an incredible, attractive feature, however, is key as well.

Think of any infomercial or "Billy Mays" product. There is always an "AMAZING!" feature - cooks in minutes, instantly removes stains, easily pulls dings from your car, etc.

2: Try to "time it right".

Quite coincidentally, one of those semiannual spills in my house happened the day before I bumped into the yellow cylinder guy. I was thinking "If I'd had these yesterday, right now we wouldn't have books stacked in the middle of the living room floor." Quite by accident, he had related to something that was top-of-mind for me.

Fortunately, you do not have to rely on coincidence. At any one time, there are usually six or eight generally popular "themes" you could tie into. Better yet, your target audience is likely to have it's own unique interests.

On the Internet, you can "time it right" by associating complementary products or services. If someone is researching monitors, for example, perhaps they need an ink cartridge for their printer.

Showing or highlighting ink cartridges on the screen along with the monitors may incite an impulse purchase. Better yet - and this is impossible unless you have order histories or detailed profiles - show them the exact cartridge they need.

3: Make it easy.

It turns out the cylinder things costs a flat $20. There was no change to mess with, no stopping to fill in order forms, and no multiple pieces of currency. As people pulled $20's out of their pockets, the demonstrator took them and handed over the shammies in a single motion.

On the Internet, you can make it easy in two ways - ordering and delivery.

Make the order process as simple as possible. Amazon's "Quick-Click" links are a good example of making ordering easy. Impulse purchasers simply click on the "Buy from Amazon" button and order straight off a pop-up window. You can see how it works here, in the left column under "Amazon 'Quick-Click' Example": http://WebSiteMarketingPlan.com/Arts/ImpulsePurchase.htm

Easy delivery is another way to encourage impulse purchases on the Internet. Immediately downloadable digital items are an example. For physical items, quick delivery - overnight, same day, or local store pick-up - can increase sales.

4: Give an enticingly presented discount.

A roll of three shammies was $21 something, but the guy was taking care of the sales tax, which made it an even $20 (But wait, there's more!). Because it was early he would throw in another 3-roll for no additional charge. Caught up in the moment, we nodded agreement. We were getting a deal - no sales tax plus three free.

The way a discount is presented can make a deal sound either appealing or "not such a deal". Which sounds better?...

"Buy One, Get One Half Off." OR "Buy Two and Get a 25% Discount."
"3 for $5.00" OR "$1.67 each."
"40% Off Sale" OR "On Sale, $12.00 each." (Assuming $20 item.)
Another way to encourage impulse purchases is to give a discount by bundling. Offer to reduce the price on a second, related item (Like in example #1, above.).

Online, I have seen this done with books. Some booksellers offer you a chance to save money on shipping and/or book price if you also purchase a related item.

5: "Keeping up with the Joneses."

Instead of putting the shammies in a bag, the demonstrator rolled them up into a cylinder. This way, people at the show would see others carrying them around and wonder what they were missing.

The same concept can be applied to the Internet. I have seen messages like: "Others who bought 'x' also bought 'y'" on order forms, at check out, and on product screens.

So there they are - five tactics the yellow cylinder guy used to convince me (and nearly everyone around me) to happily walk away with six shammies. By correctly applying these same techniques you can see your sales soar as well.

About The Author

Bobette Kyle has more than a decade of experience in Corporate Marketing; Brand and Product Marketing; Field Marketing and Sales; and Management.

She is author of the Marketing Plan and Promotion Guide "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Web Site Marketing", named one of the top 15 books of 2002 by NonFictionReviews.com. Read more about the guide here: http://WebSiteMarketingPlan.com/bookinformation.htm 

© 2003 Bobette Kyle. All Rights Reserved.