About the Author: Barbara Hemphill, founder of the Productive Environment Institute, has been referred to by the media as “America’s Favorite Organizer“.
Some months ago I sent out the following e-mail to my top customers: “I believe that birthdays are important. For that reason, I would love to know the day of your birthday (not your age!). I don’t promise to send a card, but I do have a reminder system that will alert me to your special day, and I do promise to say a special prayer for you.”
I received more response to that e-mail than any communication I have sent out in over 30 years of business. Customers shared stories about how they celebrate their birthdays, special memories they have of past birthdays, or ways they celebrate other people’s birthdays.
This is a powerful marketing lesson. During the past ten years of offering a training program for productivity consultants, I’ve discovered that the biggest challenge for many trainees is marketing. Many of them say, “I hate marketing.” As any successful business owner knows, regardless of the specific business you are in, you are in the business of marketing – so you had better figure out how to market, or get out of business!
When trainees ask me, “How should I market?” my reply is, “That is the wrong question.” Instead ask, “How WILL I market?” The good news is there are many ways to market, but keeping in touch with people regularly is, without question, one of the best. More good news is that there are many ways to keep in touch: newsletters, blogs, phone calls, greeting cards, e-mails, letters, teleclasses, social networking, webinars, and more.
Growing up on the farm in Nebraska, my father used to say, “Half of any job is having the right tool.” One of the essential tools for every business is a well-managed database. We use Infusion Soft because of its capability of totally automated marketing sequences, systems for tracking sales opportunities, and the interface with our shopping cart.
One of my favorite “marketing” activities is randomly calling someone from my database and asking how things are going. In the thirty years I’ve been doing this, I could count the negative responses on the fingers on one hand – and still have fingers left over! In these days of automation, customers long for the personal touch. This morning I got a call from the pest control guy to ask about the service I had the day before. He closed the conversation with, “I just wanted to be sure you were getting the kind of service you need. Have a great weekend.” When a colleague asks me to recommend a pest control service, who do you think I’ll mention?
One of my favorite ways to stay in touch is personalized (physical) greeting cards. Send Out Cards is an amazing company that makes that “personal touch” easy and cost-effective. The founder’s story is a touching one. His brother died suddenly, and he had not kept in touch with him. As a result he started a company that would enable people to “never lose touch again.” Their tag line is: “Changing people’s lives one card at a time.” Here’s how it works: You go to their website, which has a catalog of 5,000+ greeting cards. Choose the card you like (or you can customize one yourself with your own photos and logo or have them make a custom card for you). Type in the message you want to send to the recipients, and Send Out Cards will print and mail a physical card with a real stamp. It takes minutes, and the cost is a fraction of what it would cost to buy an equivalent card in a store. You also have the option of including a gift. (Try it out for yourself for free)
Research shows that the biggest reasons that a company loses a customer after a long time is apathy. Obviously, this company knows that – and they want to be sure it doesn’t happen to them! Regardless of how you do it, stay in touch with your customers. Take advantage of the power of personal!
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e Author: Elinor Stutz is CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, International Author, Sales Trainer & Coach, and Motivational Speaker.