THE 15 MINUTE MARKETER:
“5 Ways To Quickly Attract More Customers Without Spending a Dime”
by Nancy Gerber
My Dad owned a printing supply company in Brooklyn, NY back in the days when there were no computers, cell phones, fax or answering machines. He sold what printers needed to complete their customer jobs on small printing presses — typical supplies were ink, solutions to clean the type and presses, lubricants for the machinery and specialty paper stock. Growing up, I was in the store often after school to help out. I watched him build and maintain relationships with his customers. I can still see him standing in front of his large drafting table, planning out his next day’s route, laying out the index cards with information and notes about each one. I remember the laughter and warmth between him and the people who would call or stop in to see him. I know that he and his customers were understanding and supportive of each other when times were tough. He spent his time, rather than his money, on creating and maintaining customer attraction, and kept that business going successfully for over thirty years. Although times have changed, I’ve learned a lot from my Dad’s actions, attitude and commitment to the processes and systems he developed for his business. If Alzheimer’s hadn’t robbed him of his abilities, I know he’d get a kick out of what’s going on today. Here are some Morty Birnbaum-inspired low or no cost customer attraction tips.
1. Think low tech, high touch. These days, even though we have so many high tech tools available to us, it’s absolutely essential to make human interaction a priority. Instead of an e- mail, make a phone call. Instead of bouncing voice mails, schedule a face-to-face or telephone meeting. Too many of us are using technology as an excuse to remain isolated. Time to get over that, and fast.
2. Reach out to former customers or clients Touch base to see how they’re doing. Find out what they need. Create a special offer (with a deadline, of course!) to get them excited about reconnecting with you and your company.
3. Treat whoever contacts you like royalty Whoever is the main point of contact — especially first contact — needs to be trained to pay attention and be nice, polite and helpful to every single person who calls, e-mails, or walks through the door. Learn, teach and model a service-oriented attitude. Since this kind of behavior is so rare these days, you and your business will stand apart and above the rest.
4. Collect contact info from everyone who visits Once you get permission to do so, you can reach out with special offers and opportunities for them alone. You can share useful info not readily available. Make them feel special and privileged. Give them a reason to keep coming back.
5. Reward those who refer others Referrals from happy customers are the absolute best way to get more happy customers. This week, use your 15 Marketing Mambo minutes every day to choose ONE new customer attraction strategy. Make a commitment to incorporating this tactic regularly. Create a SPECIFIC easily do-able plan, and start NOW! Who can you ask to hold you accountable for implementing these actions? **************************************************
With businesses, you go to the same places because you like the service, you like the people and they take care of you. They greet you with a smile. That’s how people want to be treated, with respect. That’s what I tell my employees.. customer service is very important. — Magic Johnson
