Two experiences this past month produced the ultimate lesson in
I’d like to share them, just as long as you
Two weeks ago I was buried in emails. (Almost 1000/day as I tried to move to a new list manager.) This meant that my wedding anniversary crept up unnoticed, until a gentle hint by the woman of my dreams sent me to the Internet in a panic. A quick Google took me to the UK Interflora site, and a few minutes later the panic was over. And I know I don’t have to worry about next year because they will email me a reminder a week ahead of time. (It was one of the questions they asked when the order was complete.)
The flowers arrived, my woman was stunned at her man’s romantic genius, and the evening was a spectacular success.
This week was my woman’s birthday. Last week wasn’t nearly as busy, so en route to the bank I popped in at the local florist and ordered a dozen red roses. The price was better, and so were the flowers.
So where will I be buying all my anniversary and birthday flowers next year?
I am glad you asked. It’s going to be Interflora – even though they’re more expensive and their flowers are less spectacular. Here’s why:
- They’re easier to find and buy from – no matter how busy I am or where I am on the date I order.
- Their flowers have exactly the same effect as the local florist – my woman is amazed. (Probably more at my prodigious feats of memory than at the details of the flowers. It’s all about the gesture.)
- But, most importantly, they’re going to remind me – on the right day – that I need to do something NOW or else sleep outside tomorrow night. (If my local florist did the same thing, I’d buy from them.) Every man needs flower power from time to time.
Here is the critical issue: all that the local team needed to do to guarantee at least 2 sales from me next year was to ask if I wanted a reminder!
I wouldn’t have cared whether they put it into a
Which reminded me of a client a few years ago who was struggling to sell his herbal alternative to those wonderful recreational substances that enhance one’s romantic capability. His website attracted 6000 new clients over a 2 year period – but his sales were flaccid. Why?
To understand the answer you need to understand who buys this kind of product: basically any man over 45, and all diabetics. And we want it every month. You just have to remind us – because life is too busy to expect us to remember you. A simple email reminder with a link to the site, and sales would be strong. Like each client. Ole’
Instead of his clients buying every month, they mostly bought just once, and then moved on. But that simple reminder would have kept them coming back every 4 weeks, so that by the end of the 2 year period he would have been doing 6000 sales/month!
Marketing is dead simple when you stop smelling the roses and start thinking about your clients.
The quickest way to get some real muscle into your marketing is to simply remind a current client why s/he should call you this time next year/month/week. Heck, you don’t even have to offer a discount. The mere fact that you cared is good enough.
You can write it in your diary and then phone or SMS – but that costs time and serious money, or you can write letters, or you can automate the entire blessed thing by using a simple email mechanism called an autoresponder. (In the florist case you would set up one for ‘anniversary’ and tell it to send a reminder exactly 360 days hence.) This year’s client will get an email next year – long after you’ve both forgotten each other – saying:
Hi Peter
This time last year you ordered flowers to celebrate your anniversary.
Would you like us to ensure that your partner is overwhelmed this year? We still have your order details, so a simple phone call is all it takes. We’re at: 01425-474553.
All the very best, and have a wonderful anniversary on the 17th.
The team at Flowers R Us.
That’s so simple even my unborn daughter could do it. But I have yet to find a local florist that does it.