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You work like crazy trying to attract attention
and business, operating from a marketing calendar, committing
to your strategy and doing everything right, resulting in
an influx of customers -- but you lose them. They never come
back. You did your marketing so well and marketed so wisely
that you're almost in a state of shock at how your customers
ignore you.
You treated them well while you were making
your business transactions. You gave them a fair price, knew
that the quality you put into your offering matched the quality
they got out of it. You assured them that service is your
middle name. You smiled and used their name when you said
good-bye, thanking them for the sale. And then, after all
that caring attention on your part, they completely ignored
you, never set foot in your business again.
Do you want to know why they ignored you, why
it was so easy for them to put you out of their minds? It's
because you ignored them.
It's because you made the sale and then made
the grave but all-too-common error of thinking that your marketing
job was over. That was a terrible error. But at least you've
got a lot of company making the same terrible error. Nearly
70 percent of business lost in America is lost due to apathy
after the sale. Apathy is the deadliest enemy of marketing.
A "love 'em and leave 'em" attitude is usually fatal
to profitability.
The opposite of apathy is follow-up. Guerrillas
have a "love 'em and love 'em" attitude, marketing
to prospects like crazy till the sale is made, then continuing
to market like crazy to them after the sale. Apathy never
sets in. Customers never feel ignored. Guerrillas do all in
their power to intensify the relationship with caring follow-up
and loving attention. They know that once they have established
a relationship, their product or service is no longer thought
of as a commodity. Businesses that offer commodities often
lose customers due to competitors offering lower prices. Businesses
that form warm relationships transcend being thought of as
a commodity and maintain their customer relationships with
service and constant contact.
No wonder they don't lose business so readily.
People want relationships, want the businesses they patronize
to stay in contact, want to feel cared for and not ignored.
All guerrillas know that their customer relationships are
their most precious assets. They know that if customers purchased
from them one time and had an enjoyable purchase experience,
they are very likely to buy from them again. And again and
again. And to provide many referrals over time.
To nourish these kind of lasting relationships,
guerrillas send thank-you notes after the sale -- within 48
hours. They contact customers within a month of the sale to
make certain they are satisfied and have no questions. They
get in touch with customers once again three months after
the sale, this time suggesting new items that may tie-in with
the original purchase. And three months after that, they make
another contact. This kind of guerrilla follow-up not only
prevents dreaded apathy from setting in, but also increases
business anywhere from 20% to 300%. That's because customers,
in their hearts, silently hope for recognition, acknowledgment,
information, advance opportunities to purchase, and new calls
to action.
Instead of the kind of apathy that loses customers
forever, constant attention and follow-up results in healthy
back-end sales. This means repeat sales, ancillary sales and
referral sales. And this means big profits to you -- because
it costs six times more to sell something to a new prospect
than to sell that same thing to an existing customer.
These days, all the true marketing experts ask
you to calculate the lifetime value of a customer. If you
don't understand the damaging effects of apathy after the
sale, that lifetime value is pretty small, probably a few
hundred dollars, if that. If you do all in your power to prevent
apathy from ever setting it, the lifetime value of each customer
may be measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe
even more. You'll profit from the initial sale, from the repeat
sales, from the referral sales and from the long, mutually
beneficial relationship. It happens only when you defeat the
most deadly enemy of marketing. And now you know how to do
that.
(C)2000 Jay Conrad Levinson
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To find out more about our Guerrilla Marketing
Coaching, Personal Breakthroughs Coaching and Creating
Passive Income Program
call or e-mail us at :
mitch@gmarketingcoach.com
773-209-4255
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