Now
that Easter has passed and we look forward to Mother’s Day, we’re sharing a powerful
marketing tool from retail experts, Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender of Kizer & Bender. Take time now to make meaningful connections with customers loyal
customers now and reap the benefits for years to come.
Years
from now someone will spend a gazillion dollars to study American life online
and wonder who these people were who desperately need to lose weight, perfect
their relationships, look younger, make certain body parts larger than life,
buy fake designer goods, and grab those PHDs we so richly deserve but have not
earned.
Sigh.
That’s
a typical day of email for us. 700 messages: 80% junk that gets deleted ASAP
and 20% actual mail.
Snail
mail isn’t much better. Our mail box is typically brimming with bills, offers
from companies we've never heard of, and lots of “You have already been
approved” credit card applications. On a good day there’s mail that arrives in
a handwritten envelope.
Guess
what we open first?
The
telephone isn’t much better. At least ten times a day we answer the phone with
a smile only to be greeted by silence and a recorded message that's supposed to
encourage us to act immediately. Instead we just hang up the phone.
We
all have far too much impersonal communication in our lives. Most of us rarely
receive handwritten notes or letters so it’s a big deal when we do. Anything
handwritten gets opened first – there are studies that back that up. It’s the
personal touch that gets our attention.
We
have shared our Impact 8 technique in our very first Retail Adventures seminar
and have continued to share it ever since. Know why? Because it can make you
the most visible person in your company or the most talked about store in your
community. Impact 8 has elevated some retailers to celebrity status and all in
the amount of time it takes to have a cup of coffee each morning.
There
are two parts to Impact 8. Part I involves a personal telephone call to four
customers you spoke to or worked with the day before. This isn’t telemarketing
– you are not allowed to talk about business unless the customer brings it up.
If you happen to get the customer’s answering machine it’s okay to leave a message
– you’ll make their day.
Here’s a sample
conversation:
“Hello
Mrs. Customer? This is Your Name at _________________.”
After
the customer has had a chance to respond, you say:
“I
enjoyed speaking with you yesterday and I just wanted to take a moment and
thank you for your business. I know that you have lots of choices, and I thank
you for choosing my store. If there is ever anything, I can do for you, please
do not hesitate to call me anytime.”
Call
four customers per day and watch what happens. But that’s only the first part
of Impact 8.
To
implement Part II, you’re going to need note cards that are blank on the
inside. Go for standard greeting card size, not the smaller common “Thank You”
card version. You can use fun off the rack cards or create a custom version –
it’s up to you. You will also need the names and addresses of four customers
you spoke or worked with the day before because these customers are going to
get a personal note from you.
There are a few
rules:
1.
Each note must be handwritten. Remember, handwritten mail is always the first
mail to be opened. It’s easy to try and fake it with a service that imitates
real handwriting but trust us, people know the difference.
2.
You must address the envelope by hand. You’re only doing four a day so this
isn't a big deal.
3.
You must use real stamps. Weird or interesting stamps – The USPS offers lots to
choose from, you can check them out here. You might even consider using
different denominations to make your envelope really stand out.
Your note can
say something like this:
“Dear
Mrs. Customer,
I
just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your business. I know that you
have a lot of stores to choose from and I appreciate your choosing _________________.
I have enclosed my business card, if there is ever anything, I can do for you
please do not hesitate to call me anytime!”
If
you implement Impact 8 just four days a week, you will impact 32 customers per
week; 128 customers per month; and 1536 customers per year. And if those
customers tell just ten others that’s 15,360 people. The word of mouth
advertising and good will you will generate is immeasurable.
The
cool thing about Impact 8 is that it operates under the radar so it’s rarely
noticed by your competition – they’re busy looking at your ads and social media
posts. All they will notice is less cars in their parking lot and more cars in
yours.
Copyright Kizer & Bender | All rights reserved.
Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender are consumer anthropologists,
keynote speakers, authors, consultants who have helped thousands of businesses
in the retail and service industries since 1990. Gain more expert advice on
what retailers can be doing right from Kizer
& Bender’s Retail Adventures podcast and weekly webinar.
Crave more? If you like what you
read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right
to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this,
delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one
of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and
build upon their business and marketing practices.
