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One of my clients gives everyone a gift--a free car wash--on their birthday and the Fourth of July. Ask yourself how you can acknowledge your customers at special times and in a way that favorably distinguishes and differentiates your business or practice above all the competition.
Following are some examples of what some of my clients do:
* A cosmetic surgeon throws an incredible annual Memorial Day and Christmas party for all of his past clients and their friends. The last one drew nearly 1,000 people. Half were referrals invited as guests of my client's past patients.
* My bank rents a prestigious art museum in Pasadena, CA, once a year for their top clients and holds a truly wonderful dinner and "Art Appreciation Night."
* A leading clothing store would close down the entire store one Saturday a year, rope off the parking lot and hold a 12-hour Western barbecue for their customers and their customers' friends--2,000 people would show up!
What special events or activities can you start sponsoring as a regular, annual or semi-annual aspect of your business--something that so distinguishes you above your competitors that it becomes no contest?
If your business or profession deals with an issue that's far too serious to lend itself to fun, another idea is adapting or adopting? Maybe a Christmas party isn't appropriate, but perhaps a Christmas remembrance process is. Maybe you pay to plant a tree or place a plaque in a forest or in protected wetlands. I've seen funeral directors hold memorials for deceased loved ones, and I've bankruptcy attorneys play the role of Santa Claus for financially impaired clients and their children.
Believe me, if you'll allow your mind to travel beyond the narrow limit of what you have been doing, you'll come up with some wonderful ways to distinguish your customers or clients. That's what you really end up doing when you hold any kind of special event for them. You respect and distinguish each and every one of them, their families or businesses, as being truly important and special to you.
I have also talked about customer lists in previous issues. Well, I was surprised at the many innovative ways people utilized their own customer and client lists. Here's a sampling:
* A clothing store sends a letter to each person in its database as soon as the new season's line arrives; it invites people to come in and try on any new outfits that catch their eye.
* A nursery communicates with its customers by letter or by card whenever it's a good time to plant new trees and shrubs.
* An art gallery writes to its patrons to tell them of new acquisitions, and to alert them to upcoming art exhibitions.
If you haven't yet begun capturing your customers and prospects by name, address, phone number and by designation of their buying interests, please do it now! Once you have a customer list, you can start working it regularly. You can make monthly mailing and/or phone contacts to announce new products, services, pricing and sales.
If you have a good mailing list, mail it often. It doesn't take any great writing ability to make a great offer. All it takes is a simple understanding of what people want. They want a promise of a desired result or benefit to them. That could be an advantage, protection, saving, enjoyment or even prestige. They want to be and feel special, more important, or favored. You accomplish that for them when you address them in letter form, as well as in person, in a special, respectfully distinctive way. For instance, "Dear Preferred Customer," or "Valued Friend."
Also, it is very effective to alert them in advance to a buying opportunity, or to give them expanded understanding, or information that they didn't previously possess. And when you communicate with your customers, clients or patients, make certain that the information you share helps improve or protect their situation, not yours.
If an offer has value, people will appreciate hearing from you. So if you take the time to put enormous value into each communication you have with your customers or clients, you can't communicate too often.
__________________
This resource is (c) Jay Abraham, a renowned marketing expert, and is taken from the "Jay Abraham's Business Breakthroughs" newsletter.
by Jay Abraham
One of my clients gives everyone a gift--a free car wash--on their birthday and the Fourth of July. Ask yourself how you can acknowledge your customers at special times and in a way that favorably distinguishes and differentiates your business or practice above all the competition.
Following are some examples of what some of my clients do:
* A cosmetic surgeon throws an incredible annual Memorial Day and Christmas party for all of his past clients and their friends. The last one drew nearly 1,000 people. Half were referrals invited as guests of my client's past patients.
* My bank rents a prestigious art museum in Pasadena, CA, once a year for their top clients and holds a truly wonderful dinner and "Art Appreciation Night."
* A leading clothing store would close down the entire store one Saturday a year, rope off the parking lot and hold a 12-hour Western barbecue for their customers and their customers' friends--2,000 people would show up!
What special events or activities can you start sponsoring as a regular, annual or semi-annual aspect of your business--something that so distinguishes you above your competitors that it becomes no contest?
If your business or profession deals with an issue that's far too serious to lend itself to fun, another idea is adapting or adopting? Maybe a Christmas party isn't appropriate, but perhaps a Christmas remembrance process is. Maybe you pay to plant a tree or place a plaque in a forest or in protected wetlands. I've seen funeral directors hold memorials for deceased loved ones, and I've bankruptcy attorneys play the role of Santa Claus for financially impaired clients and their children.
Believe me, if you'll allow your mind to travel beyond the narrow limit of what you have been doing, you'll come up with some wonderful ways to distinguish your customers or clients. That's what you really end up doing when you hold any kind of special event for them. You respect and distinguish each and every one of them, their families or businesses, as being truly important and special to you.
I have also talked about customer lists in previous issues. Well, I was surprised at the many innovative ways people utilized their own customer and client lists. Here's a sampling:
* A clothing store sends a letter to each person in its database as soon as the new season's line arrives; it invites people to come in and try on any new outfits that catch their eye.
* A nursery communicates with its customers by letter or by card whenever it's a good time to plant new trees and shrubs.
* An art gallery writes to its patrons to tell them of new acquisitions, and to alert them to upcoming art exhibitions.
If you haven't yet begun capturing your customers and prospects by name, address, phone number and by designation of their buying interests, please do it now! Once you have a customer list, you can start working it regularly. You can make monthly mailing and/or phone contacts to announce new products, services, pricing and sales.
If you have a good mailing list, mail it often. It doesn't take any great writing ability to make a great offer. All it takes is a simple understanding of what people want. They want a promise of a desired result or benefit to them. That could be an advantage, protection, saving, enjoyment or even prestige. They want to be and feel special, more important, or favored. You accomplish that for them when you address them in letter form, as well as in person, in a special, respectfully distinctive way. For instance, "Dear Preferred Customer," or "Valued Friend."
Also, it is very effective to alert them in advance to a buying opportunity, or to give them expanded understanding, or information that they didn't previously possess. And when you communicate with your customers, clients or patients, make certain that the information you share helps improve or protect their situation, not yours.
If an offer has value, people will appreciate hearing from you. So if you take the time to put enormous value into each communication you have with your customers or clients, you can't communicate too often.
__________________
This resource is (c) Jay Abraham, a renowned marketing expert, and is taken from the "Jay Abraham's Business Breakthroughs" newsletter.