I’ve been waking up at 5AM lately to work on my “beach body.”
If you’re up early enough you can still catch tail end of all the late-night infomercials on TV… P90X, INSANITY, SHAM WOW!
Years ago, the clever marketers behind many of these bestselling products noticed an ongoing trend with their businesses.
Refunds rates were literally through the roof! The marketing was so persuasive, so effective, so powerful, that customers would become entranced by all the promises of untold riches, working from home, and abs of steel.
But three weeks later when box of stuff arrived (along with the credit card bill), the customer would subconsciously say, “Who am I kidding? Where’s the closest McDonald’s”
The marketers knew they needed to figure out something. What they did worked, and it worked remarkably well.
Here’s how the solved the problem:
When the customer’s product arrived, and he or she opened the box, inside (sitting right at the top) was a letter–an actual letter on paper–and it served a very specific purpose.
The letter worked and refund rates dropped. Why?
It worked because the letter was crafted in a way to meet some very strategic objectives.
1) To resell the customer on the purchase and ease the post-purchase buyer anxiety.
2) To get them started with using the products right away.
They recognized that just because they had “closed” the deal and got the sale, it didn’t mean they could stop marketing!
They also recognized that the faster you get someone using your products and services, the less likely they were to change their minds.
I always say – if you only ever hear your marketing team talking about getting new customers/clients, and never discussing how to keep them, then they’re only doing half their jobs.
Today’s Thinking Point: [tweetable alt=””]Are you paying close enough attention to how the customer’s experience starts? [/tweetable]Is your stick, sticky enough?
But Wait! There’s More! Read the rest of this blog post and you’ll get not one, not two, but three bonus steps!
Consider these important steps when thinking about the “new customer or client:”
1) Thank Your Customer—and Reiterate the Benefits of Your Products & Service.
2) Walk Your New Customer through the Next Action Steps. You want to get them using, consuming, or participating right away.
3) Continue to proactively communicate with your customers after the honeymoon phase is over. Remember, closing the sale is really the opening of the relationship. Check in with customers at 7, 30, 60, 90 days etc.
