Attracting Return Customers

So, you've made your first sale...

One of the most critical post-sale mistakes is to assume that your job is done once you make the sale. The ultimate goal should be turning that one sale into repeat sales!

What you do after the sale is just as important as what you do before. The ultimate success of your business depends on a strong, personable relationship with your customer base to build trust. Customer trust leads to customer loyalty, which leads to customer recommendations, which means more customers!

So how can you get the most out the sale you just made?

Customer service comes first when trying to gain future sales in order to gain customer trust.

But you already knew that.

Another insider secret…your customers are your friends.  FRIENDSHIP GETS YOU CUSTOMERS!

Customer relationships take work before, during, and after a sale:

You want those repeat customers who bring in other customers. They are thriving entity behind your business's success. To build that kind of security, you have to build post-sale relationships with your customers even after their payment has been approved.

How to “stay friends”, Even After the Sale:

Think of your closest friends and how you guys interact.

Keep in touch:

Keep an email list of your customers so you can send newsletters with your business’s latest news and promotions to keep them in the loop.

Answer all questions and respond to comments quickly:

Staying on top of your social media, emails, and site comments is one of the easiest ways to continue the relationship post-sale. TIP: If you’re getting a lot of comments and questions maybe find some help to manage your social media.

Show your gratitude: 

Remember those two magic phrases Mama taught us? Please and THANK YOU. Make sure to send a “thank you” when you receive notification of a sale. It may just a quick typed message, but it adds that personal touch even through the computer screen.

Offer a discount offer to returning customers to make them not only want to come back, but also feel the love. EX: offer 10% off their next order.

• Make things viral by getting them to share the deal with friends through a Tweet. EX: "I just bought this item on www.bremarketing.com and got 10% off my next order from @bremarketing"

Go out of your way for them:

Go even further and send a longer note with the product when you ship it. *HAND WRITE IT!! Personalization often shows you took the time for your customers to show your appreciation for them coming to you to do business, it goes a long way in remembering a companies name.

Get to know them on a deeper level:

Who knows what your customers want better than your customers themselves? Get to know them by asking for their input. TIP: Create an interactive quiz or ask fun yet helpful questions on your Social Media. Customers will be more likely to respond! The key is to not make customers feel obligated to answer questions because they are not paying for obligation.

Some find advice on how to market your business via video content

I watched this video the other day and just loved the ideas it started working up in my head. This is Chris Ducker giving us some tips of how, when, and where to get footage to make a video that is bound to help you promote your business or products. A little advice from myself, get a friend that is willing to help you out in the audio and video side of these productions. Chris gives some awesome advice on getting footage from different locations such as the beach, conventions, etc. and despite the length of our arm and selfie skills having someone there to follow you in the action to get shots of you in action from these locations is ideal. This also puts you in a position that allows you to focus on your presentation without having to stumble around with a camera as well. Just a little tip I picked up from my days in audio/video classes in high school.

So don't take my word for it, check out these awesome video, and a start getting the ideas going for your next video. Let me know what you come up with, even post it in the comments sections of this blog. I am very interested in what you all will come up with. I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3juZlpp0WKE

Enhancing You Email Marketing

Want to your current and future customers in the loop? Here is a great article about to do just that using Email Marketing.

Sending newsletters on regular bases is an awesome way to remind people that you are in business as well as keeping them involved in what’s happening at your business. This can be a great way to spread the word about future events, sales, or just giving people the general feeling that you care about having their business enough to take the time to send them an email. …Kinda’ makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn’t it?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/katelee/2012/10/15/15-email-marketing-tips-for-small-businesses/

In the article provided there are 15 awesome details to keep in mind when launching a newsletter campaign. There are several that turned a light bulb of ideas on for me, but here are my top 3 favorite.  

Top 3 tips I found interesting:

1.     “Make it easy to subscribe” This seems like a no brainer, but when me personally, if you want me to sign up for a newsletter I’m not going to spend all day just getting signed up. I want it fast, easy, and to the point. By making it easier to do, people won’t mind taking a few seconds of their day to fill in three or four boxes.

 

2.     “Test” This refers to looks of the email when converted to fit the oodles of devices people may have. Send the email to your own address and then view it from your phone, tablet, computer, etc. Double check to make sure it looks good even after it gets stretched and moved around.  This helps to ketch mistakes before you send out the final print.

Last but not least…only because I said I would stop at three…

3.     “Make it sharable” Whats the overall goal of a newsletter? TO GAIN MORE BUSINESS!!! With as many social media sites as we have in todays world, people share everything! …Sometimes even more than we would like. If a newsletter is easy to share, and contains worthwhile material, make it easy for a reader to tell their friends about it. The best business comes from word of mouth, so use that to your advantage.

I would encourage you to read the entire article and let me know your top 3 words of wisdom, I am interested in hearing your thoughts. I hope you enjoy it and are able to take something from it that will help you in your next newsletter campaign.  

How to Use Publicity to Your Advantage

Today we are going to review publicity. Maybe some of you will be asking yourselves "What is publicity?” Simple answer, publicity is the attention that the media gives you. This is really important to entrepreneurs and business owners because publicity often will cost you very little, or in some cases, nothing; if you have a limited budget for marketing this is your best deal. Another reason why publicity is your ally, it’s because it’s more credible than advertising. Your business will have more chances of being known if you are in the newspaper article of your city.

Become Unique and Interesting

So the first step to take is making your business newsworthy, this is really important because we often believe that something is important, but to the media, it really isn't. For example, do not contact your local newspaper if your restaurant will offer burgers; that is nothing new. Instead, opt for writing a press release stating that your burgers are organic and that you use local meat, that your burgers are healthier yet bigger than a Big Mac. This will have more chances of being advertised than a simple "I sell burgers" article.
If you really want your business to be known in town, focus on detailing what makes your business unique. Remember, it’s not what you do, but how you do it.

Write a Press Release

A press release is a written or recorded statement directed to the media to get their attention. A good eye-catchy press release will surely get the attention of the media. It also makes the reporter's life easier because he/she will no longer need to do much research on your business.
Keep in mind that this is the media that we are talking about; A.K.A grammar Nazis. Review your press release and make sure that you are making sense. This includes grammar, organization, thesis, and conclusion. Additionally, review your contact information and make sure everything is updated. 

Update ALL Your Social Media 

If for whatever reason the reporter decides to research your business, there is nothing more disappointing than a Facebook page that has not been active for a while, You can almost see electronic cyber spider webs on the corners of the Facebook page. If you were a reporter, how would you like a social media page to look? Then do exactly that. We are not talking about a post every thirty seconds, but at least some activity each week. In a world where technology predominates, your social media pages talk just as much as the words coming out of your mouth.

Go Philanthropist, Go Community Member

Nothing attracts the media more than local community events. If it’s in your budget, donate to charitable causes. If not, be a member of the community and participate. Remember that donating is not always about money. Do you have old uniforms that could be donated to homeless shelters? How about furniture that is just sitting at your storage? Or what about canned food?

There are lots of ways to donate but participating in community events is always an option. If there is a "Walking Strides against Cancer Walk" in your area, be part of it. Order some T-Shirts with your business name and walk the talk. This will improve your options of the media spotting you.

"And the Winner of this Contest is...."

Being a member of the community will give you the chances of participating in contests around your area. "Oh there is a Salsa Contest in the local farmers market" be a part of it. "Ohhh there is a dance contest at the local theater" be a part of it. "Ah there is Basketball contest on the local community center" be a part of it. There is not a contest in your area? Be the pioneer! Use your networking and create a contest that will draw the attention of the community and the media. Remember to make it fun and active to as many people as you can. 

Publicity is a powerful tool that all entrepreneurs and business owners could take advantage of. If you are new to it, it might seem as a useless step and a waste of energy. But once you get the idea of it, not only you will save tons of money, buy you will also make your business know in town. 

Bre Marketing Video

Want to know a little bit about Bre? Watch this short video guys!

E-Marketing Introduction

So you already know how to have a great inauguration for your business. Cross-promotion will help get your name out there, and remember, the rule of the thumb is to take your inauguration party serious!

We also learned about networking. Building a strong networking group can really help you in the long run. As said in an ancient African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”

So Let’s talk now about the fun (challenging) part,

You made your business well known with the inauguration party, everything went well and everyone was pleased to be there. You have been working hard on building a strong networking group, and so far, it seems to be working out. Now the challenging part is here; attracting new customers.

In most cases, businesses will think of things such as flyers, newspaper ads, word of mouth etc. Perhaps you thought of hosting more events since your inauguration party went so well. And maybe you even considered using your networking to get new customers. All of the above are great things to do, AND, brace yourselves ladies and gentlemen, there is a powerful tool that the savviest businesses are using now a days; E-Marketing.

E-marketing is advertising on the internet and let me tell you, when done properly, it’s worth 14 bags of gold.

So how do you start? It depends on how comfortable you are with computers, social media, and blogging etc. But let’s just say, since you are reading this blog, that you feel comfortable with all of the above.

Does your business have a Facebook page? How about a twitter? Perhaps Pinterest? If your answer was no to at least one of the options, you need to jump on the action! Facebook, twitter, and Pinterest are great social media tools to get your business name out there! And did I mention, that it’s free? Yes it is.
I mean really, imagine being able to advertise your business as much as you want for FREE! Not using these great tools would be limiting yourself and your business. So picture the following;

By sharing a video of your business on Facebook, and asking your friends to like and share for a chance to win freebies, you not only interact with your Facebook friends, but also all the friends of your friends. Talk about small investments and big returns! The possibilities are endless.

Now, how about blogging? See, a blog is like your very own website where you can express your ideas and share links to other stuff. Say for example, that you have a computer business, and to attract customers you make a blog about computer health. As people read your blog, they find it very informative and they also find the link to your business physical address. Well, guess what? You just provided enough information for a new customer to find you.

So get your hands out there and start experimenting with E-Marketing. There are hundreds of social media sites that could help you promote your business.

Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to attract new customers without even leaving home.