"When I hear someone say "Life is hard,"
I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?""

As many of you may have read, I recently had a run in with what I called a 'Stupid business owner.' For those of you who haven't heard the story I'll just relate the basics.

What happened was this . . . I bought some birds (the feathered kind) and at the time was told if I had any problems to bring them back. Well a week later one of them was dead and the business owner wouldn't replace the bird for free. He went directly against what I'd been told the week before. As a result I took my business elsewhere.

So what does this have to do with marketing? I'm glad you asked.

The first step in any 'business owner - customer' relationship is to start a relationship. Sounds cryptic doesn't it? Well it's not. See, the biggest problem with most business owners is that they do not start a realationship with their customers. No. They just make a sale and go on to the next money source (customer).

As you will remember from the series of tips that covered the marketing basics, this is wrong wrong wrong. Why? Because statistics show that it can be as much as 7 times easier AND cheaper selling something to someone that has bought from you before, than selling something to a stranger (or getting a stranger to buy).

Why is this so? Because the people that have bought from you now trust you more. As a result they will deal with you again more easily. And the more they trust you, the easier it will be to sell to them.

So the trick here is to build up this trust. To start a relationship with your customers. And the first step in starting this relationship is to thank your customers for giving you their money.

And I mean more than that automated 'thank you' at the cash register. I mean a personal thank you. Something that shows your customer that you DO appreciate them for giving you their money.

And you do this buy sending your customers a thank you letter after they have bought from you. And while you're at it why not encourage them to come and give you some more money. Here is an example of something you can send . . .

Dear Michael,

I am sending you this letter because I've got something important to tell you.

I'd like to say . . .

Thank You!

Thank you for purchasing from us and giving us your business. I've been giving some thought to how I could thank you for being a customer. And what I came up with was money.

So as a thank you for being a customer of ours . . .

. . . bring this letter with you next
time you come into the shop and it will
be worth $10 off your next purchase.

That's $10 to spend on anything you like in the shop, just for being a customer of ours.

There are absolutely no strings attached and no minimum purchase is necessary. You can spend the $10 on anything. You can buy something outright or use it as a part payment toward something else. The choice is yours.

Anyway, back to the reason for the letter and that is to say THANK YOU. Thanks for being a customer. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely,

Michael Ross.

P.S. Whatever you do, make sure you keep this letter in a safe place because it's worth $10 to you the next time you're in the shop. Better still, why not come in right now while it's fresh in your mind. That way you won't put the letter somewhere then forget where it is, or forget that there is a $10 discount waiting for you when you bring this letter in.

Will sending something like this to your customers work? Sure it will. After all, when was the last time you received a thank you letter for spending money? I have only ever received one thank you letter and I remember it vividly. Send one to your customers and they'll remember it and you too.

Try this, it works!

May the success you achieve be a direct result of the effort you put in!!

Michael Ross
Miros Designs Marketing.
 
 

About this author

Michael Ross is an australian based author, product developer, direct marketer and consultant.

Michael Ross is known for his detailed and helpful advice on how to succeed in marketing.

Note:
Michael Ross' original web site is closed. I don't know if it's permanently or temporily. Michael Ross recently told me that he has more or less retired from the Internet. I'm sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause you.

You can, however, still buy a copy of Micael's book, "The Art of Leverage" by going to this web site: http://artofleverage.cjb.net/