How to “WOW’ your customers and keep them coming back!

If you're loyal to your customers, they'll be loyal to you. E-mail is a great way to keep in touch and show your
loyalty. Here's how email can help you:
• Know your customers. Create forms to keep a database of their needs and preferences.
• Send emails about product information or any news that might interest them.
• Surprise them with a discount to your product or special bonus for being a Member.
• Delight them by remembering their birthday with a friendly email.
• Always send a thank you note when doing business.
• Reward them for their loyalty with a frequent buyer program.

Make sure your emails have these 4 features:

Attention.  Create an email headline that will grab their attention immediately.

Interest. Now that you’ve got your customers’ attention, hold their interest with benefits about what you’re selling
– in short, simple sentences.

Desire. Give your customer an opportunity to imagine what it’s like to own and use your product, by including a
link to testimonials or real life stories.

Action. Don’t forget to ask for the order, include a “buy it now” link or give a compelling reason to visit your web
site for more information.

Here are some good reasons why email is a proven way to reach customers and get results.
• Get their attention and get your message across. Use headlines, graphics and offers, but be professional.
• Make an offer and make it worth the while.
• Over-deliver and surprise them with an extra bonus.
• Set up your auto responder to email often (every 3-4 days) and see how persistence can pay off.
• Get an accurate, up-to-date mailing list.
• Send thank-you emails, they may lead to referrals.
• Solicit testimonials and referrals from you members - they can be used in your marketing.
Offer FREE advertising to your Members by asking for them to share success stories, helpful tips or valuable
information you can add to your web site.

1. Highlight an offer in your headline
Offer a special discount, free gift or rebate. Make sure the offer has an expiration date. Time and again, it’s been
proven that more people respond to an offer when there’s a limit on the amount of time they have to do so.
2. Emphasize benefits, not features
Features are what the product has. Benefits are how it improves your life. The “7-horsepower engine” in a
snowblower is a feature. “The horsepower to clear 10 inches of snow from 40 feet of sidewalk in 20 minutes” is
a benefit. If you have an important, valuable benefit, you want to put this in the headline instead of an offer.
3. Put a P.S. in the email
The P.S., that little afterthought at the end of a letter, is often read even before the body. This makes the P.S. a
good place to reiterate the offer or main benefit.
4. Make your emails personal
Always use the customers name in an email. Be aware of your customers needs and recognize them. Here are
some examples of how other businesses do this: A flower shop sends birthday and anniversary reminders to its
customers. A shoe store tells a customer that a new line of pumps, similar to what she always wears, just came
in. These efforts turn email into a customer service tool and your customers appreciate the extra attention and
service.
5. eMail frequently
Auto-responders help keep you in front of your customers. This will make them more familiar with you and more
comfortable with your business.
6. Put a business card in with your orders
Business cards improve response rates and are easy to hang onto. Their very presence communicates
professionalism.
7. Start a club
Say you own the Hillcrest Gourmet Foods store. Don’t refer to the people on your email list as customers. They
are members of the “Hillcrest Gourmet Club.” Provide membership cards, recipe exchanges and private sales.
Your customers become stakeholders in your success.
8. Add a fragrance to your package
Psychologists say the right fragrance can put people in a very positive frame of mind. Try subtly scenting your
package or including a free potpourri for your customers. This will keep your items smelling fresh when they get
to their door.
9. Add a free gift in your package
It doesn't’t have to be a big gift. Consider a pen or a magnet. Adding these items to a mailing makes their day.
10. Tell people what you want them to do
Don’t say “On Sale This Week.” Say “Come in for These Specials - This Week Only.”


How to keep your customers loyal.


1. Know your customers
Create forms on your web site for customer to let you know what their needs and preferences are when signing
up for your newsletter. Link a computerized database to this information so you can retrieve it whenever you need
it. This information helps you keep in touch with and serve your customers.
2. Inform your customers
Say you own a wine store and you just received a shipment of Cabernet Sauvignon. Go through your files to see
who buys Cabernet Sauvignon and send them an email about it. Reference the fact that they’ve bought this from
you in the past, then offer to hold some for them for a few days. Since you’re loyal to them, they’ll be loyal to you.
3. Help your customers
Write a monthly, quarterly or even semi-annual newsletter and post it to your web site to keep customers or
clients informed about issues that might relate to them. Changes in the tax code, computer-software
compatibility problems, whatever. Give people information they can use and they will think of you as a resource.
4. Surprise your customers
Send your best customers a gift Certificate in the off-season or a useful premium with your name on it. Since they
haven’t asked for this and haven’t “earned it” through some points program, they are surprised and delighted.
5. Delight your customers
Send a friendly email to wish them a happy birthday or happy holidays with a nice card personalized to them.
6. Thank your customers
“Please” and “Thank you” may be the most powerful words in the English language. Use them in email. A
sincere thank-you letter following up a purchase is always appreciated. Say, “Please let me know if there’s
anything else we can do for you,” and customers may take you up on your offer.
7. Reward your customers
Call it a “Membership Card,” take some personal information before you give it out, and use email to take the
rewards program to a higher level. Maybe send members of the program a card on their birthday, with an offer of
a discount or free gift. The card becomes a symbol of a more personal relationship.

How to delight your customers

There was a time when a woman could walk into a store and be greeted with “Good morning, Mrs. Jones. Those
jelly beans that Junior likes came in this morning. Should I pack some up for you?” Even today, people
appreciate that kind of treatment. The mail is a great way to deliver it. Here’s how the mail can help you:
1. Know your customers
You don’t need a steel-trap memory to remember your customers, their families, sizes, tastes and preferences.
This information can be gleaned from an index card file of sales slips organized by customer name. Or link a
computerized database to your cash register. Either way, this information helps you keep in touch with and serve
your customers.
2. Inform your customers
Say you own a wine store and you just received a shipment of Cabernet Sauvignon. Go through your files to see
who buys Cabernet Sauvignon and send them a postcard or letter about it. Reference the fact that they’ve bought
this from you in the past, then offer to hold some for them for a few days. Since you’re loyal to them, they’ll be
loyal to you.
3. Help your customers
Write a monthly, quarterly or even semi-annual letter to keep customers or clients informed about issues that
might relate to them. Changes in the tax code, computer-software compatibility problems, whatever. Give people
information they can use and they will think of you as a resource.
4. Surprise your customers
Send your best customers a gift Certificate in the off-season or a useful premium with your name on it. Since they
haven’t asked for this and haven’t “earned it” through some points program, they are surprised and delighted.
Which brings us to…
5. Delight your customers
Go beyond birthday and anniversary cards and gifts. Write a spouse to remind him or her that the special
occasion is coming up. Also let the spouse know that you have some great gift ideas in stock.
6. Thank your customers
“Please” and “Thank you” may be the most powerful words in the English language. Use them in the mail. A
sincere thank-you letter following up a purchase is always appreciated. Say, “Please let me know if there’s
anything else we can do for you,” and customers may take you up on your offer.
7. Reward your customers
Maybe you give out punch cards with offers of a free ice-cream cone with every ten purchased. Call it a
“Membership Card,” take some personal information before you give it out, and use the mail to take the reward
program to a higher level. Maybe send members of the program a card on their birthday, with an offer of a free
sundae. The card becomes a symbol of a more personal relationship.
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