Give the Gift that Keeps on Giving…REFERRALS!

December 8, 2009 - Leave a Response

Whether you are giving them or getting them, referrals rock!

When you give them, of course giving wisely only to those worthy few who truly deserve them, your stock rises with both the person you are referring and the person you are referring to.

How does this happen?

If you are referring someone deserving, they will be very grateful and will most likely either continue doing a great job for you, do an even BETTER job for you, or even refer YOU to someone.

When you refer someone deserving, the person you are referring them to will be very grateful because you have helped them either solve a problem, made their life a bit easier, shown them a new or different supplier or vendor, or saved them some money. In fact, they might be so grateful to you, that THEY will give you a referral too!

When you GET a referral, you should recognize that as being one of the highest compliments you can receive from someone.

He is putting himself on the line, his taste, his opinion, his reputation, all trying to help you AND help the person you are being referred to. This is not a situation to take lightly. You should go ABOVE AND BEYOND for both the referral and the person who did the referring. Make sure everyone is satisfied, do lots and lots of thanking and following up. Show your appreciation in numerous ways…a card, a small gift, a referral back, an email, a letter, anything so you let them know to KEEP THOSE REFERRALS COMING.

If referrals are handled properly, they can be extremely powerful tools in either your marketing arsenal or for your own career development.

Why not spend a little time thinking about referrals and how you can give and get them in 2010?

Paula Smith / Paula@curryprint.com / Office: 410.685.2679

You can also … connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter!

Categorized in Referrals

Direct Mail…Direct to Your Bottom Line

December 1, 2009 - Leave a Response

Are you interested in a cost-effective way to reach your prospective clients?

…one that proves its value time and again, year after year, generation after  generation?

…a program that can boast top percentages of not only people looking, but actually buying what you are selling?

…the answer is…DIRECT MAIL!

The latest studies show that direct mail influences more purchasing decisions than other channels, including television, email, and all forms of social media.

Direct mail can be personalized to pack even more punch, raising the response numbers even higher. You probably have enough data on your own customers, products and services to put together a fairly sophisticated direct mail program and start bumping up your sales numbers.

Use colorful images, bright paper, different sizes, anything to catch the eye of your prospective customers. Partner with another company selling a complementary product to yours, and get twice as much bang for your buck. How about considering a cross media campaign, combining a direct mail piece with an online companion deal?

Most important of all…go to your local, trusted printing partner so they can get you on your way to direct mail nirvana today!

Paula Smith / Paula@curryprint.com / Office: 410.685.2679

You can also … connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter!

Categorized in Direct Mail…Direct to Your Bottom Line

Which Survey Delivery Option Should You Choose?

November 24, 2009 - Leave a Response

There are all sorts of ways to solicit customer/prospect opinions, running the gamut from informal (a quick “how did we do?” call) to formal (a separately administered focus group). The type of survey we have been discussing lies somewhere in between.

Starting with printed surveys (near and dear to my heart!), you can contract with a specialized marketing company to assist you in determining the questions and format of the survey, as well as the target audience, potential response rate, statistical significance, data collection and interpretation. This professional approach works well if you have a larger, more intensive survey and a great number of recipients. It is sophisticated and involved, but the results are scientific and meaningful, and it might help to have an expert interpret the data for you. (try contacting Carrie Parker from Parker Marketing, carrieparker@aol.com)

Another printed survey can be designed and produced by your local friendly printer. They can help you select questions, layout the piece, determine the most logical and cost-effective way of delivering it to your clients/prospects, and assist with the logistics of having them returned to you (BRE’s, etc).

Printed surveys can also be handed directly to customers, either in a container on your front counter for clients to pick up themselves, or put into bags or boxes of product your customer is buying from you.

Emailed surveys are pretty straightforward, and a good, reputable vendor will be available to assist you with any help or questions you might have during the process. Michael Casey at Survey Advantage has an excellent product which is reasonably priced and gives amazing customer service. Other emailed survey options include ConstantContact  and SurveyMonkey.

The bottom line is that surveys are an excellent way to improve your customer service as well as touch your clients in a meaningful way, showing that you do really care!

Paula Smith / Paula@curryprint.com / Office: 410.685.2679

You can also … connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter!

Categorized in Which Survey Delivery Option Should You Choose?

What does the dog do now that he’s caught the car?

November 17, 2009 - Leave a Response

Meet Paula Smith!OK, so you’ve carefully and contemplatively written and sent out your survey, and have gotten an excellent return rate…good for you!

NOW WHAT?

Well, you’ve got a bunch of data that you need to mine for good, solid information.

Some things you may be looking for include:

  • What was your response rate? (how many of your clients/prospects took the time to complete and send back your survey?) If it seems low to you, perhaps you either didn’t survey the correct individuals, your survey was too long or not understandable, or you need to offer an enticement to encourage them to respond. Maybe a gift card, or a discount, or an entry in a drawing?
  • Do your clients seem willing to recommend you? If so, that is a good thing! You might consider highlighting your positive survey results in a direct mail piece or on your website.
  • Did you get positive written comments? Maybe you can turn them into a client testimonial brochure (with your clients’ permissions, of course).
  • Perhaps there were some negative responses? Those need to be examined very closely, because this is where the real value in a survey lies. These negative responses or comments will indicate that you have some shortcomings either with your operations, your products or services, your personnel, or some other area. If you see a pattern, that should be addressed immediately.

If your clients responded negatively and included their contact information, you should jump on that as soon as you read it. Let the client know that you are willing to address the issues.

It is said that clients offer more and stronger loyalty to firms who make mistakes and correct them well than to those who never make any mistakes. Fair? Not really. Important? You betcha!

Next week, we’ll go over some surveying options to get you started on the path to surveying nirvana!

Check out my business...Curry Printing & Copy Center

Paula Smith / Paula@curryprint.com / Office: 410.685.2679

You can also … connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter!

Categorized in What does the dog do now that he’s caught the car?

Always Question the Question…What Should Your Survey Questions Be?

November 11, 2009 - Leave a Response

Like most things in life, form follows function, so when designing a good survey, you should be asking yourself what the purpose of the survey is, how often you will send out a survey, and to whom is your survey being sent.

Meet Paula Smith!As we discussed last week, we are just talking about simple one or two minute surveys for your clients and prospects…anything longer or more intense should definitely be handled by a professional research firm. Try to keep the survey to 4 or 5 simple questions. You should always leave room for comments to be written in by your clients, though.

 

 

Try having your answer options like this:

  • Very satisfied or very likely
  • Satisfied or likely
  • Neutral
  • Dissatisfied or unlikely
  • Very dissatisfied or very unlikely

Questions should be geared to help you decide something like:

  • Should I offer a new product or service?
  • How satisfied are my clients and are they likely to recommend me to friends?
  • How do I stack up against my competition?
  • Can I generate referrals?
  • How will my revenue stream change in the future?
  • Are my customers aware of all of the products and services I currently offer?

Try questions like these:

  • How satisfied are you with the quality of the finished product?
  • How satisfied are you with our service?
  • How likely are you to recommend us to colleagues and friends?
  • What could we do to improve your experience next time?
  • Apart from the products/services you already buy from us, what other products/services do you have a need for but do not currently buy from us? (give a list of your other products/services)
  • What percent of your purchasing do you do with us?
  • How much will you be buying next year?

There are hundreds of possibilities that can all be geared toward your customers and prospects. Emailed surveys can be easily personalized. You can mine tons of useful, even crucial, information.

Next week, we’ll discuss what to do with the information you get from your informal surveys.

Check out my business...Curry Printing & Copy Center

Paula Smith / Paula@curryprint.com / Office: 410.685.2679

You can also … connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter!

Categorized in Always Question the Question

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