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October 2012
Volume 2, Issue 10
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I'm Social Now
Newsletter
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With the release of my new book in paperback this month, I thought it the perfect time to relaunch my newsletter. My plan going forward is to put out a newsletter once a month.
I've pared down my mailing list for this relaunch, and hope to build a quality list in the months ahead. The last thing I want to do is start spamming people.
So here it goes. You're on my short but distinguished list for this first edition because I value your opinion. Let me know what you think, good or bad, about content and format. You can help me create a better newletter.
And please share this with others if you feel there is someone who might benefit.
Respectfully,
Michael
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Are Your Competitors Eating Your Lunch?
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Your customers love you. Except when they forget all about you. That's when they become low-hanging fruit for your competitors to swipe. Customer acquisition is only half the battle; customer retention is the rest of it. You work hard to get new customers in through your doors, but you'd better have a robust plan in place for keeping them coming back.
Customer loyalty programs are one good way to swipe-proof your customer base. They're bombarded every day with ads, offers, and deals from your competitors. You'd better be able to keep up and deliver what your competitors cannot, otherwise you risk losing hard-earned ground. An effective customer loyalty program requires planning and forethought. They already know, like, and trust you more than your competitors - assuming you've treated them well. Now it's just a matter of providing incentives to get them coming back for more, always and only to you.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to reward your loyal customers is by creating a gift card program. Offering $10 gift cards your customers can spend with your business works well because:
- The amount is enough to give customers value, without breaking the bank.
- Your products and services likely have enough margin built-in that you won't be out of pocket much.
- Gift cards are transferable, which could build your customer base as your customers share with their contacts.
- Everyone loves a gift, and typically, customers will spend more than the amount of the card, which puts money in your pocket.
- Gift cards allow your customers to choose what they want more than if you ran a more traditional sale.
- Your gift card serves as a free publicity machine. You could issue a press release about the promotion. Your customers will likely tell their friends and family about it as well. The investment you make will pay off as you see more business through the door later.
- Gift cards are convenient. At the counter, in direct mail pieces, or distributed at a special event, your delivery costs are minimal.
Remember to tie in your customer loyalty gift card program to your marketing calendar. This is not a strategy you want to rush into without a plan. Plan well, and reap the benefits.
November events and holidays for your marketing calendar:
10 USMC Day
11 Veteran's Day
13 Sadie Hawkins Day
15 National Philanthropy Day
17 National Adoption Day
22 Thanksgiving
23 Black Friday
What specials, deals, and packages can you create with these events in mind?
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Market Research on the Cheap
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There's no substitute for intelligence. Learning what your target market wants and wants to know can cost an arm and a leg... or you can get a glimpse for free.
- Type a keyword plus a ? into Twitter, and you'll see what people are discussing on that topic.
- Use Quora.com to see what information people seek on your topic.
- Browse the boards and categories on Pinterest - especially if yours is a visually-oriented business.
The idea is to follow behind your target market on social media to see what content they share and what questions they ask, then meet their needs and wants.
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Somehow, as business owners, many of us have picked up a skewed vision of the path to success. Plotted on a graph, it looks like a wavy line, more or less headed up and to the right. Truth is, entrepreneurs know that line circles back on itself, dips and rises wildly, and after untangling itself from a massive knot, heads north east on that graph.
In desensitization therapy, psychologists expose a patient with a phobia to measured doses of whatever it is they fear. Eventually, the fear is overcome. The two biggest fears entrepreneurs face are fear of failure and fear of success. Fear of failure's easier to beat, because it's easier to create a failure to expose yourself to - and survive - than it is to orchestrate desensitizing yourself to the 'terror' inherent in success.
That's the key: seeing that you can fail, then pick up the pieces and keep going without collapsing and quitting. It's martial arts stuff - the core of perseverance that dictates "knock down seven times, stand up eight."
The idea is not randomly, purposefully doing a crash and burn. It is more to create room for more, and more creative ideas. An upsurge in quantity and quality of initiatives is far more likely to yield wins than sticking to the same old, same old because you dare not venture forth into the unknown.
To fly or fail effectively, you must learn to assess without emotion. Each new endeavor must be evaluated: What worked? What didn't work so well? What should we change for next time?
Take the calculated risk. Go boldly where you have not gone before. Then evaluate your results ruthlessly. The faster you fail, the faster you learn what will fly in your business.
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Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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