Controlling Your Customer List - Part 1

How long should I keep inactive customers on my mailing list?

Every month or every quarter I send out a mailing with no response.....should I bother sending anymore out?

Is anyone reading my literature or is it just a handy piece of paper to get a campfire going? Mmmm....love those S'mores!

When you look at your customer list do you think:

1. Organized....all under control. I'm happy with my system; or

2. Look at this mess! I think I'll just go to bed and sleep so I don't have to think about it.

While some of you (and a very small few) have your customer list and mailings under control, the majority of you just brushed your teeth and put on your pajamas to settle down for a long winter's nap......just so you don't need to clutter your brain with this customer list thing!

I'm going to teach you some simple strategies that will help you to develop a cost-effective system for keeping in touch with your customers.

Have everyone at your parties fill out this information:

Name

Address

Home Phone

Email

Best Time to Reach You

(I loved using index cards because I filed them for future reference)

Let's hang out here and talk about this information for a few minutes. What information on the above list will people be reluctant to give to you?

You answered correctly if you said email. It's interesting the information that people are reluctant to give to you is the most important thing you need to collect.

So, what's the big deal about needing email addresses...... and if it's so important, how do you go about getting it without begging, bribing, and throwing a fit?

When you put someone on your email list and you send out a monthly e-newsletter to keep in touch, it costs you nothing.......no money out of your pocket......cash stays in your bank account! That alone should cause you to want walk over hot coals barefooted to get email addresses. It's the most cost-effective way to stay in touch with your customers.

Email is also like germs when someone sneezes.....they get passed on real fast! I love email germs. It's called the forward button.......and each time someone forwards your newsletter, word of mouth spreads quickly about your business.

How long should you keep someone on your email list....even if they are inactive customers? Until they tell you to take them off or they die!

How long should you keep someone on your customer list if you send out literature through the mail? First of all, why are you still sending stuff through the mail? It costs a lot of money for very little return. It may have been the way to do effective business in the past, but times have changed. Taking advantage of technology will give you the edge over consultants who refuse to adapt to the new ways of doing business.

If you use email as your primary means of consistent communication, then you don't need to worry about sorting through your customers. Before email, I used to sift through my 2,000 customers each year, taking off those people who had not been active for a year.....meaning they didn't have a party, give me a referral, or purchase products in a year. It was time consuming, but was essential in keep mailing costs reasonable and me profitable.

Email has made the whole process of doing business so simple!

So, we're back to this......how do you get these people at the party to offer their email addresses? While you can't twist their arm, you can make it beneficial by offering specials for those who are willing to be put on your email list.

The announcement at your party would go something like this:

'Please fill out this card and don't forget to write down your email address because I offer specials only to those on my email list.'

Now you'll need to think of some specials to periodically offer your email people:

Purchase this new product (or a certain $ amount) and you'll receive ________ for free. (Something that is a high perceived value to your customers but doesn't cost you a lot.)

Refer one person this month and receive ______________.

Book a party for the end of the month and I'll raise your order level to the next level so you can get more free items.

These are just some thought starters to get your creative juices flowing!

I know what you're thinking......what if someone tells me they don't have an email address? Remember, the periodic specials are for people who give you their email address....period! I might add this comment to the person: 'Who do you know who has email and they could print the information out for you?' Point made....problem solved! They can do what they want with this newly presented information.

In Part 2, I'll share with you some details about what should be included in your email newsletters. In the meantime, be collecting as many email addresses as possible!

Success to you!

Tonya, Owner
Dynamic Performance Institute, Inc.
'Helping Consultants Get Back to the Basics!'
http://www.TonyaGrimes.com

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