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01) Thank You Letters
Whether you send gift certificates, coupons, a 2 for 1 special, a free gift, or just a friendly thank you letter to stay on your customer’s radar screen, these types of letters are memorable and encourage your customers to send you referrals. As always, these types of letters should be personalized, and never use a mailing address label on the envelope.
Example:
Dear Mr. Smith,
I hope you are very pleased with your recent purchase of my quality artwork. May it bring much viewing pleasure for you and your family for years to come.
Being an independent artist, I truly appreciate your business! I really want to personally thank you!
You should know that a recent painting I did was auctioned locally for more than $10,000.00! My work is featured at local art shows, and my original Silent Tempest painting has been on display in the Wadsworth Atheneum In Hartford since 1998. That means if you hold onto your painting, you’ll likely see its value increase considerably.
As you may know, I also paint custom portraits, landscapes, abstract art, and theme-based artwork from your choice of subjects.
What does that mean for you?
Good question. I just moved into a new, more spacious studio, and I’m having a special sale just for my best customers. Here’s what I want you to do (you’ll love this): call me right away for a absolutely FREE, no obligation quote on any custom painting you’d like me to do for you.
But…
Don’t tell me you have this letter until after I give you my free no-hassle quote. .
Only then tell me that you have this letter, and I’ll knock off an additional 21% off of my already ridiculously low price.
That way you’ll know for sure I haven’t “padded” my price just to give the appearance of a sale. I’m going to let you trick me!
Why would I do this? Simple. I want you as a customer for life. Most of my customers come back again and again, because they love my inspiration and extraordinary use of colors. And they appreciate the fact that no other local artist enjoys an appreciation on the value of their paintings as I do.
So call me today at (555) 555-5555 for your FREE quote.
Very truly Yours,
John Artist
P.S. Remember, call me right away to take advantage of this most exclusive offer for my best customers only.
P.P.S. Also, don’t tell me that you have this letter until after I give you my rock bottom price first!
One car salesman collects the name and address of everyone who comes in to check out a car. Then he sends them a personalized letter, thanking them for stopping by, and telling more about the car they looked at, its features, benefits, etc.
Even if it results in one more sale a year (and he gets more than that), it’s worth it in his case.
02) Rekindle Procrastinating Customers
Here’s something you can do for your own business, or you can do a JV with another business and capture some of the “found” revenue. Many customers tend to procrastinate on their purchases. For example, a dentist may have 3000 patients, but after analysis, 1000 haven’t come back in over a year. A sequence of mailings to these 1000 (with incentives to come back) might bring back a certain percentage, of which you can negotiate up front a slice of the profits.
This may be nothing new to you. But most dentists know about dentistry, not marketing.
Or how about the carpet salesman who has customers that haven’t replaced their carpets in six years? If the average customer replaces his carpet every five years, you have an opportunity to offer them an incentive to act now.
03) Rekindle former Customers
In addition to customers that procrastinate, there will always be customers, for one reason or another, that no longer purchase from a business. Perhaps they’ve moved out of the area. They may no longer have a need for your product/service (i.e. baby clothes…the baby eventually grows up). They may have passed away. There are lots of reasons why. And then there are those customers who are dissatisfied.
You want to target most of them. For those that are dissatisfied, you want to offer them an opportunity to make things right, to give them a special deal if they agree to give you another try.
For the others, they are most likely satisfied former customers. For whatever reason, though, they are no longer part of the target market. The best way to capitalize on that situation is to get them to refer business to you. If they are satisfied, they may respond favorably to a gift certificate that they can pass onto a friend or relative who IS still part of the target market.
Either way, it’s “found” business, and you stand to profit from it.
Let’s say you want to target chiropractors. You can locate a bunch of authors who are reputable and recognized by chiropractors, contact them, and tell them what you’re doing. Ask to buy a bunch of copies of their book at a discount if they would be willing to send a letter to these chiropractors along with their book (at your expense).
The letter would say something like, “Hi, this is John Smith here. You probably know me through my book, ‘17 Ways to Grow Your Chiropractor Business Today.’ It’s been reviewed in Health Economics, and I’m sending you a copy of my book with my compliments and introducing you to Jane Doe, because she’s got a great way to reactivate your no longer active patients. I’ve asked her to email you in about a week.”
04) Ask Your Customers
This seems like a simplistic idea, but you’d be surprised how often it’s overlooked. For instance, that same dentist mentioned above also advertises that nobody in his office will ever lecture you about avoiding visits to a dentist or failing to care properly for your teeth.
They’ll cheerfully do the work that you need and that you want, without guilt or hassle. That’s a powerful benefit that most patients would probably not volunteer to tell their dentists, if asked. But by researching what dental patients complain about, and why they avoid going to the dentist as often as they should, he’s addressed another powerful benefit of going to see him.
Agree that thank you note helps to leave the pleasant impression on your customer, which he would remember. Sometimes there is no time to go to the store, buy a card and mail it yourself. You can delegate this to Thank You Pen art iPhone app which sends hand-written letters and greeting cards directly from iOS devices . You type your message and the post team physically handwrites a message, address the envelope and mail it to the recipient.