Buzz Marketing

Don't Miss the "Spending Season" 

If you miss out on the “spending” season and allow customers to leave, you lose that customer, all his future sales, and referrals – but you’ll never even know about it. So make an effort by getting out in front of your competition with a professional customer retention weapon. (And yes, you’ll end up winning some of the ones he’s neglecting too.)

How to Create A Great Summer Postcard 

1. Focus on a singular summer-themed headline. This is simple since you can refer to the “heat” of summer versus the “cool” of your service and systems. You can also use a July 4th theme since that is a powerful and popular tie-in.  Since these are for customer retention you do not promote a special, but you reinforce the relationship. Guilt is stronger than discounts.  This is a group that is not loyal because of your discounts - discounts “buy” customers the first time; service and relationship keeps them.
   
2. Tie the headline to a magnetic photo. Don’t show equipment or trucks since these have generally very low attraction rates. Royalty-free photos are available at many websites (although the discs can be $2500, but this beats a professional photographer at $300 per photo) and can have thousands of photos. We sift through 3-400 to find the ‘right’ ones, but this process is what draws the reader or turns them away. Best bet: Children in summer activities rank #1 in female-oriented focus groups, which account for nearly 70% of the readership. Review the samples on our website for reference.
   
3. “Sell” them on your relationship with a soft call to action. This means to draw the reader into the copy, then remind them of your service and that you can “fix” many of the ills connected with the hot weather or plumbing related issues.
   
4. Two extra “lead bumps” for smart marketers. You can include a request for referrals such as, “We’d be delighted to hear from your or your friends anytime”. Also, you can turn the Postcard into a $10 off coupon (or whatever amount) with one sentence at the end or on the front. Simple, no extra costs, and increases leads.

Just remember that the summer sales season can make or break your business. Don’t wait on the weather or “hope” your customers remember you. Make sure it happens by driving your name farther into the market to get more leads, sales, and profits, just like the samples  here on our website (Hey, you’re already here…might as well take a look!). Your customers are waiting to hear from you, so don’t let them hear from the competition first!

 
Adams Hudson
President of Hudson, Ink

Put Your Name On The Mind Of Several Thousand Customers This Summer...   

Summer can be a cash-rich sales spike that goes even higher than the thermometer. Or it can be the season you "miss" because customers somehow missed you...

In summer, thousands of eager customers flood the market - cash in hand - resulting in a "service business windfall that is several times greater than anything the "off" season just dealt you. And if you're one of the contractors who is "waiting on the weather", you may either be in for a long wait OR you may be watching as your competitors snatch your customers right out of the market.

3 Summer Marketing "Dont's"

1. Don't send "your" customers to the Yellow Pages. They may be "trying to think of your name" while they walk blindly into the waiting arms of every advertiser in town. That's no good.
2. Don't make them "try and remember" you. It's your responsibility to not be forgotten! So you must stand out from the crowd with impressive reminders.
3. And whatever you do, don't let them remember your name right after they've begun using your aggressively-marketed competition. Be the one who is "out in front" with a professional customer retention weapon.

These full-color customer retention postcards are a unique and memorable relationship- building tool to use with your customers. Sending these professional, image-building retention pieces will keep your customers coming back when they need additional service or new systems, and encourage them to refer their friends to you.

Customer retention is about your relationship with your customers, which is the core of good marketing. A strong retention program will outpull, outprofit, and generally outperform other forms of marketing - dollar for dollar - than any other marketing investment you can make. Period.

The purpose of Retention Marketing is to keep customers. That's its purpose in life and it's a very good purpose to have. It keeps your name in their mind to build an "Iron Cage" around them. You get more loyalty, sales, and referrals for far less than in costs to replace them

If you're only "selling" with every contact, it means a customer's loyalty is only as good as his next check to you. There is no love lost if all he has to do is stop using you. You can't make a system fail, but you can be on your customer's mind when it does. Don't leave them open to accept a competitor's offer. Instead, send them a fabulous summer postcard to your most valuable group of people - your customers - for just pennies each!

Do no delay. Be quick to get your cards in the hands of your customers and prospects. You'll be remembered and appreciated longer.

Here's how you get started:

1. Go to our Summer Retention Postcard section.
2. Select among the 11 designs.
3. Send to your active customer base for just pennies. You already spent $275-325 to get them, spend a tiny bit more to keep them!