All Posts Tagged With: "customers"

I’m a sucker when it comes to free reports. If I come across something online that looks useful or interesting, I’ll gladly give up my email address for the privilege of downloading it.

Of course, the downside is my inbox is immediately flooded with a steady stream of emails asking me to subscribe, buy, join or otherwise spend money for some product or service. A few examples, without naming the guilty parties:

• After downloading a free report on October 20, I have received 14 emails from one company, including two on one day and three on another.
• After downloading a report on Nov. 1, I’ve received seven emails from another company, including two in one day.
• In a third instance, I’ve received 80 emails from a company I downloaded something from on June 26.
• By coincidence, a client I work with showed my an increasingly aggressive, almost annoyed series of emails he received from a company begging him to sign up for a several hundred dollar coaching course.

So, my question is this: when it comes to autoresponding systems, how much is too much? Once a day? Twice a week? Three times a month?

At what point does the recipient become numb and stop paying attention? Or worse yet, unsubscribes? Now you’ve turned off a potential customer who, at one point at least, thought you had something valuable to offer?

Popularity: 29% [?]

When the going gets tough, the reaction of many small business owners is to pull back on their marketing and public relations efforts. It’s a quick, easy way to save money.

It can also be a deadly decision. What happens when the economy picks up and customers start spending money again? Will your business even be on their radar screens?

Rather than pulling back, small businesses should pick up their marketing pace when things are slow. But instead of spending gobs of money trying to court news customers, why not concentrate on the one’s you already have?

Aftrer all, you’ve probably already spent considerably time and money wooing them in the first place. You’ve already overcome the toughest hurdle: you’ve gotten them to give you a try. They’ve liked what they saw and they bought.

Now, you want to keep them coming back. Again and again and again.

How do you do it? The easiest way is with great customer service. Anticipate their needs. Solve their problems. Smile a lot and tell them how much your appreciate their business.

Try a customer rewards program. Send your loyal customers a special offer, a discount, a two-for-one deal. Make them feel important as your customer.

Another possibility is a referral program. Give your customer an incentive to introduce friends or family members to your product or service. You win two ways: you thank your loyal customers in a worthwhile, tangible way, and you open your market to new potential customers who are, in a way, pre-qualified by way of endorsement.

How about former customers? Ones who bought from you in the past but, for one reason or another, stopped. Try to bring them back with a special offer designed especially for former clients.

Slow times can be scary for small business owners. But imagine how you’ll feel when things pick up and you’re left behind.

Popularity: 25% [?]