Filed under: PrintPlace Reviews, brochures | Tags: printplace brochures, reviews
“Hello,
I received my brochures yesterday and just wanted to let you know I’m thrilled with the final product. This is the third job you’ve done for us, and every one has been printed with the highest quality. I’ve used other online printers where the final colors didn’t look as expected or the fold was off (even with using their supplied templates!). Every time I’ve gotten a job back from you, it’s looked exactly as it was supposed to. Thank you. It’s so nice to have found a reasonably priced printer that produces a consistently high-quality product and one that has outstanding customer service and technical support as well. We’ll definitely be sending more work your way.
Sincerely,
Terri Porter
Managing Director
Big Sky Repertory Theatre”
Filed under: PrintPlace Reviews | Tags: printplace customer review, testimonials
PrintPlace.com scores again with another happy customer:
http://adamrice.typepad.com/kristinarice/2008/07/a-customer-revi.html
So, you’ve gone through all the hard work of getting new customers by hanging marketing posters around town, creating eye-catching brochures and updating your Web site. Now that you have all these customers, what are you going to do with them?
You can’t just sit back and wait for them to walk into your store or surf to your Web site. Your hard work isn’t over yet! You need to start to build relationships with these newbies to ensure they stay around, and even become some of your biggest advocates.
Use the following tips to create long-term relationships with your newest customers:
Influence your customers’ opinions of your company before anyone else does. You’ve gotten their business once, so they already know a little bit about you. But there’s so much more that they don’t know.
Why not send them a thank-you letter or brochure, telling them how much you appreciate their business and also saying, “By the way, did you know …”? Many people buy products without knowing a lot about the company.
You can also send customers a welcome kit that tells them about your company’s history and what else you can do to help them. Doing this proactively helps you control your image among new customers so they won’t be swayed by your competition or others who don’t know your business well.
Track their buying behavior. Then use this information to segment your new customers into categories. You’ll need to market differently to people who are looking for price over quality and vice versa. You can determine who would be more apt to react to an up-sell and those who just want the basics. Tracking and segmenting new customers can save you a lot of time and money by focusing on what each category of customer wants.
Give them a consistent experience. You need to make sure every time your customer calls, they are greeted in the same, friendly manner and that they get the help they need. If a customer has a technical problem, he should get the same solution no matter which customer service rep he talks to. Make sure that all employees are trained in the same way, or are given access to the same information.
If your training is consistent, and you meet customer expectations every time, the customer will grow to trust you and that’s the most important ingredient in a long-term relationship.
Ask for feedback. People feel good when asked for their opinions. This is another venue ripe for building a long-term relationship. If you ask new customers for their feedback and then you implement that feedback, not only will that customer’s experience be more positive, but other customers’ experiences will likely also be more positive. If there’s a problem, you can fix it early and keep that customer, rather than wonder why he or she didn’t come back.
Whatever you do, don’t overwhelm a new customer. You don’t want to seem desperate for their business and you definitely don’t want to annoy them with loads of mail. Keep it simple and just let them know that you care. That’s what solidifies a long-term relationship.
Filed under: marketing | Tags: business phone, etiquette, marketing, promotion
Most small businesses still have to do a great deal of business over the phone. Working with customers by phone is a whole different ballgame. It is much different than any other marketing technique, like brochures, postcards, flyers, or any other impersonal tool. On the phone, you have to be personable and likeable.
Here are some general tips to help you improve your over the phone marketing.
Get to the Point Quickly
You usually only have a few seconds to convince the person on the other end to stay on the phone. If you don’t do so in a hurry, you will probably be hung up on. If you have been hung up on a great deal, it could be because you are too slow at getting to the purpose of your call.
You should get to the point of your call in no more than 15 seconds. That is just enough to time to say, “Hi, my name is…” and then tell them why you are calling. Don’t waste any time by trying to warm the customer up…they are far too accustomed to marketing calls to fall for that.
Be Friendly and Positive
This sounds painfully obvious, but, sadly, it’s not. How many times have you received a call from a company and had a bland, uninterested person on the other end? Even if you didn’t have much of an interest in their product to begin with, a negative salesperson will certainly clinch your decision to not buy anything. Always be upbeat and bright when talking to customers over the phone, even if you are having a bad day. You have no idea how important that can be in your efforts. A negative – or even just a less than happy – mood will be noticeable and detrimental.
Try to Become a Friend
Although you have very little time with which to work, try to get personal with your customer during your phone conversation. I’m not talking about asking questions regarding their personal life, but try to learn something about them that will help you in making the sale. If you learn that your customer has 13 grandchildren, you might want to pitch your product as a great Christmas gift. If you learn that your customer works in an industry that relates to your product, use that to your advantage. Any information you can get could be very valuable.
These tips should go a long way towards improving your phone etiquette and improve your sales performance. Combine these efforts with your other techniques, such as your printed literature, to create a tremendously effective marketing campaign that will have your company succeeding for decades.
Filed under: marketing | Tags: advertising, competitive intelligence, market research, marketing
You don’t need a black trench coat to become an effective business spy. Competitive intelligence does not entail anything underhanded or nefarious. It simply consists of some simple steps you can take which allow you to keep your finger on the pulse of your industry.
The first easy technique is to peruse your competitor’s ads in the local paper. Firstly, this will enable you to decipher which markets they are targeting. Maybe it might be one you are leaving out. Additionally, you’ll see their pricing and any upcoming sales. This will enable you to match deals they are giving so as not to lose that business.
Actually visiting competing stores is another good idea. Oftentimes, a visit will yield valuable tips to help your own operation. Seeing their traffic as compared to your own can also be elucidating.
Networking is also very important. Keeping in touch with participants in your space ranging from vendors to competitors themselves is a great idea. Vendors like the local color printing service can be a great source of intelligence. This enables you to be the first one to know of goings on in your industry allowing for quick exploitation of any opportunities.
Feedback from customers of your competitors is also valuable. You might come across them in other areas of everyday life. Be inquisitive. Ascertain why they shop with your competition. They answers can often provide good insight to shortcomings of your business which need to be addressed.
Keep your eyes and ears open. Develop your intelligence file. Don’t forget that sometimes a business owner also has to be a spy.
