Five Reasons Why Customers Come Back

DMNews‘ April 21st edition features four statistical charts on the Data Bank page, including one that shows a percentage breakdown of “why shoppers return to online stores.”

The chart, compiled by Guidance, includes the top five reasons that influence return shopping. There’s no mention of how many individuals were surveyed, but the results are worth noting.

  • Product recommendations - 35 percent
  • Unique experience for each visit - 26 percent
  • Areas for consumer feedback - 18 percent
  • A welcome when they arrive - 16 percent
  • Community atmosphere - 6 percent

    • Whether you sell a product or service, online or offline, any of these preferences are not difficult to add to enhance your customers’ buying experience.

    It’s best to first ask clients which of the options is most beneficial for them.

    As an example, one of my Web sites allows visitors to rate video tutorials added to each page. A “5″ rating is excellent, while “1″ indicates that it’s not helpful. This feedback allows me to gauge the direction I’ll take with forthcoming videos.

    Do you know why your customers return? Perhaps it’s time to ask.

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    April 23, 2008 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Surveys and Statistics | Leave a Comment 

    Offers By Mail Aid Your Marketing Plan

    Almost every week by mail I receive a new credit card offer from American Express. Yesterday, I was invited to “take my business to the next level” by upgrading my current AmEx business card to the Business Platinum Card.

    The one-page letter explained the benefits of receiving four companion airfare tickets, conference room access in hundreds of cities worldwide, and enrollment in the membership program, all for an annual fee of $450.

    As a customer, it’s in my best interest to keep the free-of-charge card in my possession and invest $450 in a marketing program that increases my revenue. But as a marketer, I recognize a smart campaign.

  • Loyal clients are first in line to receive new product offers.
  • The sales conversion rate is higher within your current customer list than with prospects.
  • Any objections voiced by respondents will help you adjust your offer for the next group on your marketing list.

    • By the time next week’s AmEx offer arrives, I’ll have used this week’s letter as a pattern for my own marketing campaign. What company that consistently sends you offers will unwittingly help take your business to the next level?

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    April 22, 2008 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Offline Ideas | Leave a Comment 

    A Materials’ Shortage Can be Hazardous

    How many of you realize at the last minute that you have no marketing materials to hand out at an upcoming event? Am I the only one with my hand raised?

    Today, I’m prepared for an early morning speaking engagement. Everything’s in place except for one thing: my postcards, listed all of my Web sites associated with today’s topic, are unavailable.

    How did this happen? Many sales arrived in my office last week, and that depleted the postcards I keep available to either hand out at events or include with orders.

    Thankfully, there’s a backup. Last year I ordered business cards with the same, though condensed, message as the postcards. When I encourage the audience to visit me online, they’ll take away something in hand to remind them where to find follow-up information.

    This dilemma has taught me a valuable lesson:

  • Add notice in my calendar, one month before an event, to ensure that handout postcards are plentiful.
  • Determine if additional materials need duplication, and send the sheet(s) electronically to the nearest printer.

    • I share this with you because the best of us (and that’s you, too) can overlook ordering marketing materials in time for a trade show, speaking engagement, or conference.

    This will occur less frequently, or not at all, by scheduling a materials’ check a month before each event.

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    April 21, 2008 | Filed Under Problems & Solutions | Leave a Comment 

    What Parts of Your Business are Automated?

    There’s a good chance that you receive questions and requests for similar information each week.

    In the past I’ve sent newly-created Emails to each prospect or site visitor. How much time do you think it takes to form and send those Email responses?

    Marketing-related information is added to the response, but a lot of time is spent writing something from scratch rather than setting it to automation.

    Perhaps, like me, you’re unable to be totally automatic, which is the ability to have a computer program send a response that’s customized for each subject (outsourcing the task also helps). That’s unfortunately impossible for marketers who’d rather send information that relates to the query instead of a canned response that totally misses the mark.

    What I’ve done is create a “Responses” folder. Each file within that folder is named according to the questions I receive most often.

    When a question arrives, I open the folder and look at each file’s name to choose a response. After copying and pasting the answer, I add the person’s name within the salutation and press “send.”

    There are times I feel that this is a lot of work, and you, too, may see it that way. However, this part of marketing has turned prospects into customers more times than I can count. Canned responses send the prospect straight to a competitor, or at the least, they won’t return to you.

    In the past I’ve talked about creating a frequently-asked questions area on your site to respond to certain queries, but even with this, you’ll still receive numerous Emails from people who may not see that section or simply want to speak with someone at your firm.

    I’ll continue to look for better ways to automate responses and other parts of business. For now, the ability to answer quickly by typing less streamlines this task.

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    April 17, 2008 | Filed Under Problems & Solutions, Solo Housekeeping | Leave a Comment 

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