A friend of mine, Ron Beard, sent me the link below and I was so impressed with the message that I would like to share with you what I believe to be the most cost effect and creative way to make you business stand-out from the others.

Be Creative With Your Customer Service.

Make your business Stand-Out!

Once in a great while you will see something that will bypass the brain and go straight to the heart. I guarantee that this short, 3-minute movie will be one of those times.

I’ve probably watched it 20 times, and each time I love it more than the last. Not only does it bring service into perspective, it brings life into perspective.

Just click this link to watch: Creative Customer Service

Don’t forget to pay it forward, by sharing this with friends, family, and co-workers. They’ll thank you for it!

I would suggest that you forward this link to all of your employees and ask them to watch it. I will guarantee that it will make a difference in your Customer Service.

Let me know your thoughts after watching the video. Also let us know how it has helped you and your business.

Technorati Tags: creative customer service, customer service, stand out, standing out, wowing customers

It isn’t what is inside your envelope that is relevant if your envelope never gets opened.  Just picture what you do when you get your mail.

I sit near a trash bin and sort the mail according to pile A and Pile B.  Pile A goes right into the trash bin, most of the time without me opening the envelope.  I can guarantee that this always happens with me when I know there is a credit card solicitation inside the envelope.

When putting together a Direct Mail Campaign, it is very important to give careful thought and consideration to the envelope design that most likely will be opened by the most number of prospects receiving it. 

The first choice is to design what I call a “sneak-up envelope.” 

A “sneak-up” envelope is designed to contact new prospects and its purpose is to look like personal mail.  You would only have your name and street address (my suggestion is to only have an address) in the return corner.   It would have a live stamp (not bulk-stamped) and be individually hand-addressed  or printed in a font where it looks like it was written by someone.

Another choice is called “teaser copy” It has something on the outside of the envelope selling the recipient on opening it and reading what is inside.  You might be asking yourself the question, “Why would you want to do that?”

One of my rules is that if you are going to reveal your envelope as being business related, then you might as well use teaser copy to create the interest in opening the envelope.  Should it be a sentence or more?  It should have on the envelope whatever message it takes to get the recipient to open it.

Here are some ideas of types of envelopes and what they might look like.

1.  An imitation of Federal Express/or priority mail envelopes.

2. Very official looking envelopes.

3. A window envelope with checks showing through the windows.

Those are just a few thoughts.  If the envelope looks official, it will be opened and that is the objective you set out to achieve.

There isn’t one approach that is always better than another.  Each will serve a purpose in totally different situations.  It depends on how it is to be applied.

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions that you come up with.

Technorati Tags: acquiring customers, direct mail envelopes, grow sales, reaching prospects

Here are two lessons I want to share with you. 

I recently got back home after being away for three months.  In opening the mail I noticed a flyer from a jewelry store.  I don’t know if you are familiar with the Pandora line of bracelets and charms, but the line is designed to keep you coming back over and over again every time a special occasion occurs in your life.

The problem was that the sale was the week before I returned.  When I called to see if they would make an exception, the sales woman said, “No problem, we will still honor the sale.”

Here’s what the flyer stated.  “You are invited to our Pandora Event.  Come into the store and choose from our large selection of Pandora jewelry’s charms, necklaces, and bracelets.  Get a FREE Pandora Lobster Claw Bracelet with every $75.00 Pandora Purchase.”

So I went with my wife. The sales woman stated that we could upgrade to any of the other bracelets, of course at a higher price.  I won’t go into the one we chose, but then we purchased what they call spacers, and of course a few charms to make it look good.  I spent a total of over $5,000. 

Now here’s the kicker and the great part about this lesson.  Remember the sales message said,” Get a Free Pandora Lobster Claw Bracelet with every $75.00 Purchase?  That’s 66 bracelets. 

All of a sudden it dawned on me….I now can give a bracelet to a lot of people.  For those that I’m always purchasing something during the year, it now gives me an opportunity to purchase a charm or charms for those persons on their special occasions. 

When I asked the owner of the store about the bracelets, he stated that the company Pandora gives the bracelets to them for free. 

Anyway, I now proceeded to spend more money.  How? Because I upgraded 4 bracelets for my granddaughters, and of course had to purchase spacers and a charm for the first occasion.  Just because they gave me the additional 66 bracelets, I spent an additional $3,000.  No I didn’t upgrade the bracelet to a gold one, but the silver one looked real nice also. 

So the first lesson is the obvious one of….give something VALUBALE away for free! “Free” can be your ticket to huge sales. 

Here’s the second lesson I want to share with you….make it easy to recreate your successful sales.
 
Unfortunately, I had to give them this idea. They should have come up with it first….

 I asked them if they had a data base of their customers and they said “Yes” they did.  I asked them to record my granddaughter’s birthdates, my wife’s birth date, and also my two daughter’s birthdates, to remind me that I needed to come in to purchase another charm for this special day.

This not only made it easy for me to come back in and purchase these charms; it also made it easy for them to recreate similar types of purchases from me in the future.

If any of you have daughters and grandchildren, you know they have at least 3 to 4 special events happening each year.  Regarding my wife Barbara, she has special events all of the time. 

In my book, “ How to Get Customers to Call, Buy and Beg for More,” I go into an entire chapter on how to double your business in one year and the concept is often referred to as “The Bump.” It’s all about creating ways to get your customers to continually come back and purchase from you over and over again. 

You can let your imagination run amok and determine how much they just made in profit, plus how much more they will make in the future. 

Would you like to have similar kinds of sales results?

Let me know if you can implement this concept, or if you have already done so.  This is so powerful that I would like your comments about it. 

Technorati Tags: acquire customers, grow revenues, grow sales

Whenever you ask for a sale, run an ad, or have a salesperson make a proposition to a customer or prospect, always tell the customer or prospect the reason why.

If you have a product or service that you can offer at a lower price than your competitor, tell the customer/prospect the reason why.  It could be because you have lower overhead or you purchase in volume.

If your price is high, tell your customer or prospect why.  You could have a far superior product than the competition. Your product could be made with better materials, or your product could last or perform ten times longer than your competitors.

It could also be three times as durable or with three times the personal stitching of similar products.

If the price of your package gives an especially appealing value, tell them why you are making the offer to them.  It could be because they are ordering from you for the first time and you want to reward them for becoming your customer, or because it’s an exclusive offer to first-time customers.

Whenever any business owner needs quick profit, I tell them to say something like: “I’m overstocked with goods and I need to get my capital out of slower moving inventory, so I’m able and willing to sell you this product this one time only at an actual loss—far less, in fact, than what any other company could or would offer this product or service for.”

Always tell the “Reason Why”.  Why should they patronize you instead of your competitors?  Tell me what you are doing, will do, or will avoid doing that makes favoring your business better for me than dealing with your competition.

Tell the customer/prospect all the reasons why.  I’ve just listed a few, but if you keep your mind on it, you can come up with many, many more.

The more factual, believable, credible and plausible the reasons you give your customers/prospects for dealing with your business, the more compelled they will be to favor you with their business.

Let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: acquire customers, grow revenues, grow sales

You are probably wondering, “What is Ken talking about now.” 

This one thing that I’m going to go over now will get your mail opened by more people, than if you just sent an envelope.

A “Grabber” is something attached to a sales letter and its real purpose is to “get the person’s attention.”

It could be a dollar bill, a “million dollar bill”, and any type of foreign currency, a penny, a bag of sand, a small packet of aspirin, or a sports trading card.  I could go on and on listing more items that you can use as a grabber but I think you get the idea. 

I am a huge believer in using these things and I am constantly searching for new sources of “inexpensive” grabbers. 

In my consulting I try to find a unique “grabber” that would fit the situation and mailer that is designed to create a customer. 

I’ve used a pair of shoes where I started the letter off like this:

“I’ve sent you a pair of shoes for two reasons:

1.  I need a way to get my foot in the door, and,

2. Because what I have to tell you is of great importance that I needed a way to get your attention.”

I used that approach whenever I wanted to get an appointment with a decision maker or a high value client.  When I called, they knew who I was and on average, 83% of the time gave me the time to talk to them.  

Here’s another example, where I’ve used a packet of aspirin:

“I’ve sent you the packet of Aspirin because of two reasons.

1.  I wanted to get your attention and,

2. What I have to tell you will take your greatest headache away.”

The bulkier the package, the higher the chance of you getting it opened.

Have you used grabbers?  How did they work for you?

If you haven’t, how can you use them to get your prospect to open mail from your particular business?

Technorati Tags: acquire customers, grabbers, grow revenues, grow sales

Back on 9/2/2010, I published a blog article entitled “The no. 1 strategy for getting new customers”.  I want to continue that thought here for this reason: many business owners are passing up a large revenue source by not including offline marketing in their marketing arsenal.

How would you like to reach 50,000 to 100,000 prospects, already pre-selected as being likely to buy from you, at no cost whatsoever?  These prospects may be waiting for you offline through “Host Relationships.”

Here’s how it works.  You research and find a non-competing company whose customers are the same type of people as your customers.  You convince the company to pay for a mailing to their customers promoting your product.  You split the profits 50/50 with the host company.

Does it sound too good to be true?

In my years in business, I did it dozens of times. The profits it generated were huge.  The Host Relationship, and it has some variations to it, is one of the most leveraged marketing techniques I can teach you about. 

It’s the most leveraged because the host company may have spent many years and millions of dollars identifying prospects and winning the trust of their customers.  By accessing that customer base, you get the benefit of all that effort and expense without having to spend a penny yourself.

One thing though.  I want to stress that you should be very generous with the host company when you set up the deal with them.  If you can’t get the host company to pay for the mailing, offer to pay for it yourself.  Or you can offer them 100% until they double their investment, and then a lower percentage thereafter.

The key thing is to make it happen. Offer them whatever it takes to get them to do the joint venture with you.  You will have invested so little up front and you will have so much to gain yourself.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you own a home or an office cleaning business, you should contact every carpet dealer within a geographic area you think you can handle.  Offer to pay the cost of a mailing to their customers. 

For the mailing to the customers, you should write a letter that will look like it came from the dealer. In it, you recommend your cleaning service to his customers.  The carpet dealer receives a percentage of the sales. 

This is a win-win for both of you—the carpet dealer wins because he generates more revenue and you win because you are accessing only qualified prospects.

The cost of acquiring a customer via a host relationship is a fraction of what it would be if you ran an ad or did a mailing of your own.  This results in a higher profit on every sale for you.

You must offer a good product or service so that the host companies have nothing to lose by recommending you.  It will mean thousands of dollars of profits for them with almost no effort on their part.

Hope this gave you an idea you can implement soon.  Let me know your thoughts on this strategy and the results you’ve gotten when you implement it.

If you want to re-read the previous article I wrote on this subject, you can see the article here: http://www.kenvarga.com/news/the-no-1-strategy-for-getting-new-customers/

Technorati Tags: acquire customers, grow revenues, grow sales, host beneficiary relationships, host relationships, joint ventures

I have seen so many missed opportunities from businesses that I purchase from…opportunities to serve me better and for them to make more profit at the same time. 

In my opinion, every call that is made to a business is an opportunity for an up-sell.

Did you ever purchase anything from an infomercial that you viewed?  Because of the increasing media costs to advertise, the immediate telephone up-sell has evolved from an extra profit center to a necessity. When it is done properly, preferably with a live person taking the order, probably 20% plus of all calls can yield one or more up-sells.  From individuals I know in the business, that is often the profit that keeps an infomercial on the air.

If you call and order from any successful, sophisticated mail-order/catalog company, after your order is taken, the order-taker will talk you through one or more up-sells.  If you want to hear what these sound like, call up and buy things from one of these companies.

You have the same opportunity whenever a customer calls you, seeking any questions to be answered, to now have your operators ,or anyone else answering the phones, be trained with a canned statement about up-selling to something that they will benefit from.

Notice I said, “Something THEY will BENEFIT from.”  You don’t want to up-sell something that is useless to them and that isn’t of benefit.  They will be cheated and you will lose them as a customer.  So do it with honesty and integrity.  Only up-sell something you know they will benefit from using.  If you are in the service business, it’s the same.  Only offer something that they will benefit from.

That means you have to take the time to figure out ahead of time all the ways you can help your customers accomplish their goals better, faster, and cheaper. Then when they call, don’t just fill the order; find out their ultimate reason for calling, then help them do it better, faster, cheaper with up-sell packages you’ve created.

Where can you create up-sell offers in your business that will benefit both you and your customers?  What are some noted examples of up-sells you’ve come across?

Technorati Tags: profit, telephone up-sell, up sell

I have used all types of media from postcards to Money Mailer Coupons to get my message out to the masses. But, out of all of the media that I’m familiar with, I believe that the simple Sales Letter is the most reliable and powerful method of selling any product or service—whether offline or online. 

By the way, I have yet to see what the “thing” is that can’t be sold with a sales letter.  I believe everything can.

With this in mind, my advice is to always try to include sales letters in your marketing portfolio.

When doing direct-mail marketing, self-mailers and post cards can also be effective.  But nothing beats a true letter that is written like a letter.  It should look like a letter and be delivered like a letter in the mail.

Remember a flyer is not a sales letter.

Here are some smart ways to use Sales Letters.

1. To introduce new products to existing customers
2. To get prospects to call you
3. To ask for referrals
4. To directly sell services and products
5. To generate publicity
6. To sell seasonal promotions
7. To sell out last year’s product, get it off the shelves and out of the warehouse.
8. To create direct response advertising
9. To sell subscriptions or memberships
10. To introduce new services to existing customers/clients
11. To create a multi step promotion program

What are your thoughts about using sales letters?

Technorati Tags: direct mail, direct mail marketing, direct response advertising, Referrals, seasonal promotion, sell memberships, sell new product, sell new service, sell products, sell services, sell subscriptions

It always surprises me that most companies never put themselves in their customers’ or prospects’ position.   I say this because I see so many companies that make doing business with them so hard.

For example, if someone calls your company and a telephone operator is their first contact, can that operator make a compelling response to the prospect or customer’s request?

When people come into your place of business, how well versed are your sales clerks?  How much time have you spent in preparing dialogues, questions, and advice for your people to use in interacting with your customers?

How easy is it to find things in your place of business?

How much do you take your customers and prospects for granted? 

By merely stepping outside your office and pretending like you are a prospect or customer, you should see a lot of the flaws in your operation.  Like the TV program, “Undercover Boss.”

Remember that once they are taken care of and remedied, you can dramatically improve your current and repeat business potential.

You should make sure that your place of business is inviting, informative, non-threatening, easy, educational and fun to do business with.  When this happens you will leave your competition in the dust.

Here’s a list of to do’s:

1. Educate your customers. You cannot educate too much.

2. Inform them.  Let them know what you are up to.

3. Make calling or coming in to your business desirable.

4. Make ordering easy.

5. Over deliver in your service.

I’ve always said, “Inspect what you expect.”   I always called my own offices to make sure the phones were answered the way I wanted them to be answered.  Have you done the same?

Have you called your own restaurant to make reservations and listened to the way your staff answered the phone and responded to you?  Try it sometimes. 

When you make the corrections you will see a remarkable difference in the growth of your business.

Let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: customer experience, customer loyalty, Customer Retention, customer satisfaction, customer service, loyal customers, retaining customers, Undercover Boss

A significant number of people are what I call “participators.”  They appreciate and desire being part of a special group.   They value being with others that have a special or common purpose.  

Smart marketers find ways to create this special group and offer exclusivity to that segment of their customers.

I call such a group “The Inner Circle Group.” 

Every business has a segment of their customers that create most of their profits.  You could invite that segment of your customers to join your “Inner Circle Group.” 

It is a way to bond customers to you and communicate with them in a more effective way. 

When I consult with companies, this is one strategy I find that is often missing.

When missing, I suggest to the company owners that they find out who those “participators” are and to create an inner circle for them. 

As an example, in the banks I started, I created an inner circle of business owners.
 
Those owners not only felt special that they were invited into this exclusive group, but they also worked very hard to recommend the bank to all of the business owners that they personally knew. 

Almost any business can create an “inner circle group”. 

How can you utilize this strategy for your business?

Technorati Tags: Customer Retention, customer satisfaction, grow sales, increase profits, increasing profits, lifelong customer