Welcome to Day 22 of the ‘How to run a Valentine’s Day Promotion Campaign’ workshop. This workshop runs between 27th January to 17th February 2010. Designed specifically for Zen Cart store owners, each day we will focus on one task to guide you as you run a Valentine’s Day promotion campaign.
Running a promotion campaign can be a lot of hard work and effort and so it makes sense to take advantage of the new connection you have made with both your existing customers and your new customers. Customers can leave as quickly as they come and you need to recognise that building and maintaining a relationship with your customers is the key to strengthening the bond you have created.
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Jump to today’s task – Say Thank You to your Valentine’s Day Customers |
Here are some ways you can invest in your customer relationships:
Regular communication
Stay in touch with your customers. Most likely to be in the form of a regular email newsletter, it is easy to let your customers know about new products in your range for example. Or, ask your customers for feedback about your range. This may provide you with an insight into other products or services that you could also offer to gain new business.
Follow up sales to give your customers a chance to tell you how happy they are with their purchase. You can add the positive comments as testimonials in your store and use any not-so-positive comments as an opportunity. This might mean improving a process, changing supplier or making changes to your store to enhance the customer experience. When a customer’s issue prompts you to make a change, be sure to thank the customer. A simple email to let him or her know you appreciate their feedback and that you have taken steps to address the issue based on their recommendations. This small action makes the customer feel appreciated and more likely to consider shopping with you again.
Become their ‘go to’ resource
Offer your experience and expertise freely in the form of ‘how-to’ guides, instructional videos or advice and assistance as required. While you won’t always get an immediate return on your efforts, when your customers, or someone they know, are looking for a product or service that you offer, you are more likely to be foremost in their mind.
Write a note or make a phone call
As most communications with your customers are probably through the transactional messages of your online store or via email, stepping away from this and adding a personal interaction in the form of a telephone call or a note in the mail can be priceless in building your relationship.
Be prompt with inquiries
Show your commitment to top customer service by responding promptly to all customer queries. In addition, make it a priority to resolve any issues immediately. The way you handle queries and problems is an excellent opportunity to show your customers how you are different to your competitors. Remember unhappy customers are 11 times more likely to talk about your business than happy customers.
Listen to your customers
Your customers will also provide you with great opportunities to engage further with them. For example, a customer may have included a comment in the special comments section of the last order asking if you could race through their order as it is for their son’s 8th birthday in three days time. Use this information as a cue to contact them in the coming week with a short note along the lines of ‘hope your son enjoyed his birthday’. The personal touch is always remembered.
See your store through a customer’s eyes
Keep the customer in mind at all times. Look at everything from your store front, to the checkout process and your customer service and see if there are ways you could improve.
The service you offer both during and after a sale will help determine if you have a satisfied customer. Even if your customer is happy with the product, your customer service could make the difference between a one-time buyer and a repeat customer and also the difference between a customer and a customer that continually refers additional customers to you.
Thank your customers
Everyone likes to feel appreciated. Certain times of the year, like Christmas, the end of the financial year, or the end of a promotion campaign, lend themselves to sending your customers a ‘thank you for your business’ communication. You may choose to include a discount offer on their next purchase as part of your thank you.
You can choose to send your thank you as an email message, or stand out from all the other emails by sending either a mailed letter or a postcard. Postcards are a unique and eye-catching way to ‘wow’ your customers and get them talking to their friends and colleagues that is also cost-effective. Try InfoUSA, Vista Print or search for “postcard marketing” to find a service in your area.
You may like to use the following for inspiration when writing your thank you message:
- Thank you for your order from {store name}. Here’s a coupon for 15% off your next order.
- We appreciate your business. Please accept this $30 discount off your next order as a thank you from the team here at {store name}.
- We appreciate the confidence you have placed in us and we look forward to providing you with the best possible service into the future.
- Just wanted to say thank you for your business! Your personal discount code (below) is yours for free shipping on orders over $100.
- With special thanks and appreciation for your friendship, your business, and the opportunity to serve you.
- With grateful thoughts of our past business association we extend our sincerest thanks.
If you do offer a discount, think about the level and type of discount you can afford from your profit margin and also if the discount will have an expiry date or not.
Today’s Task
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Building customer relationships takes time, but it is an essential part of your business. Add regular customer contact, not only in the form of promotion campaigns, as part of your maintaining and growing your customer base strategy.
And that concludes the final task in the ‘How to run a Valentine’s Day Promotion Campaign’ workshop. Thank you for being part of this journey and I hope you have seen the benefits for your efforts.
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