Give Customer Contact a Personalized Touch

Aside from the possible exchange of emails, or quick conversation you might have with a customer regarding her order, how else do you keep in touch with your customers? Sure, you might put out a monthly e-newsletter to let your customer base know the latest, but adding a more personal touch to your customer contact might be get you noticed, and therefore, remembered.

Here are some ideas to personalize your customer service…

1. Design a note card that reflects you and your business. For those in the Scrapbook business, take a picture of a layout created with your products, then upload it to a greeting card service. Or if you do business online, create a screen shot of your website to put as the image for the front of the card. Use this card for individualized customer communications.
2. When gathering contact information, be sure in collect your customer’s mailing address and phone number, as well as their birth date (month and day). Then send a card with a discount coupon to each for their birthday.
3. Keep a record of your customers’ orders. As products go on sale, send notes to those who commonly buy that product, or make a suggestion for a sale item that might coordinate with a previously ordered product.
4. Send a “Thank You for Your Order” card. Give them some tips on how they could use that product in their next album. Let them know of coordinating items that are also available. Depending on how soon you send the card, they may receive that before they receive their order.
5. Make sure always include your contact information, phone number at least, in any customer communications. You want to make sure that your customers know you are always accessible.

Think about it, your customers get sales ads, and who knows how many newsletters, and special offers-but how many receive a personalized card? They feel remembered; therefore, you’ll be remembered.

You might also be interested in...

• Try Referral Marketing (0)

It’s been coming at me - the reminders that now is the time to get ready for summer, figure out how to balance work with the kids at home.  Not to mention that summer is just naturally more of a laid back season online with everyone out enjoying the weather, the long daylight hours, warm summer nights.  Oh, I can’t wait!  But the reality has set in, and my planning can’t wait either.

Reality is…Batman (7) will be done with school on June 10th.  I’ve already been looking into free/low cost options of things to do this summer - we’ll hit the library (even Batman’s school library will be open one morning a week), school playground is a nice walk away.

Reality is…I’m not going to have as many daytime hours to work as I do with only Robin at home.  The two boys together are at least at an age that they can entertain each other at times.  And each plays well on their own too.  But I’m not going to want us to be staying home all day every day.

The challenge will be balancing work, play, and “sneaky academics”! LOL!  I’m doing my research - WAHM blogs are a great source of ideas, esp. at this time of year as the reality sets in for all of us - GET READY, THE KIDS ARE COMING HOME!

You might also be interested in...

• No related posts.

When is enough, enough?  Staying with a company because I’ve put 2.5+ years into promoting and selling their products.  Sticking with them through the sudden business decisions, made with no warning.  Making adjustments to my business and marketing plans as they change theirs.  Keeping up with the sales, promotions, efforts to generate income - all in an attempt to generate income of my own…and for what?

When do you decide that your efforts are all for naught? When the company starts lagging on sending out commission checks?  When they change their business structure?  When they change the name, and tell anyone who the old company owed money to that they need to contact their attorney to file a claim?  When they say that they are under new ownership, yet a knowledgable person finds out that the only thing that has changed is the name?  When they sensor their blog comments all of a sudden because they are being called on the carpet for all of the lies?  When you discover that your new “Referral” page contains misdirected links so that even if someone wanted to shop with you, or join you under the new company name - the company has made it next to impossible for them to do that. OR is it when you go to use up the last $13 in coupons that you have and get an error message everytime you go to place the order?

How in good conscience can one continue to promote that company - despite the products?  How does one know that the products are actually going to be sent out - esp. when orders can’t even be completed?  How can I be enthusiastic about the products when I now how the company is floundering behind the scenes?

The internal conversations I’ve had with myself, the online conversations I’ve had with other former consultants, and my online support system have all lead me to this answer…

The loyalty, promoting, believing in with blind faith - it all ends here.  Final word is coming down the pipe and it’s only a matter of time.

You might also be interested in...

• Dial-up Dilemmas (0)