There’s no feeling like it…. Your first sale!
And ever other sale after that!
Making stuff is the easy part, getting someone
to actually buy it is a whole new ball game.
I’m assuming people are buying your hand made
goods because they like them and have bought into you as the maker and shaker.
You can have the best products in the world, but
if someone doesn’t like you, they won’t buy it.
Now this is not going to be a post on ‘How to
win friends and influence people’. No, it’s about how you keep the customers
you have and how to keep them coming back.
You’ve probably noticed that most shops and
stores now offer a Loyalty Scheme these days. 1p in every £1 hardly seems worth
the effort of carrying around that irritating piece of plastic that seems to be
the last card you take out when you need to find it.
That card is not about thanking you for being a
loyal customer…. 1p in the £1 is hardly a reward…. No, it’s about collecting
your information!
Stores will give you this piece of plastic in
return for something….
Your name,
Your address,
Your email address
What they get from you:
A traceable record of your spending habits
(Ever wondered why Tescos knows what products to
send you coupons for and why yours differs to your friends?)
A way to send you a newsletter promoting their
products many of which you don’t need or want…. Until that vital email comes
through!
Then somehow you need to act quickly! And before you know it < CLICK > SOLD!
Sending you that ‘Irresistible offer’ – You
know… the one that you simply can’t refuse.
They’ll send you invitations to wine and cheese
evenings and their sales preview nights
as one of their ‘preferred customers’.
They’ll also have your details to sell on to
marketing firms and other businesses!
This is not exactly conning you… although you
may feel like it once the veil is lifted from your eyes…. But it is a very
clever way of keeping YOU as a customer and getting you to return and spend
money with them, rather than going elsewhere.
How
can knowing all this help you and your small business?
I’m not suggesting everyone rushes out and
splashes out on loyalty cards, although this may be a topic for later, but I am
going to suggest you at least gather Names, Addresses and emails to build a
list of your clients, so that you can at least in the future contact them when
you have special offers or new products to offer them.
How do you do this?
If people buy off your website this is easy as
all the information you need will come in with your order.
However, what about craft fairs and markets?
A simple notebook or a printed sheet will help
you gather your customer’s details.
A simple email now and again or better still a
personal postcard will be all that is needed to keep you top of there minds.
We are so heavily bombarded in our email boxes
these days a hand written small message on a postcard can mean a lot!
Customers become friends and friends buy and
recommend you…. It’s that simple.
A word of warning
DO NOT SPAM PEOPLE!
And by that I mean, don’t just sell, sell, sell.
The point of collecting customers information is
about building a relationship and a following which in turn will build up
T.K.L.
Trust and get the customer
to know and like you.
Why bother?
If someone has bought from you and it is admired
or appreciated, then there’s a very high chance that, the person will buy
again.
Keeping a customer is cheaper and far less time
consuming than finding a new customer every time.
It makes your customer and yourself feel valued
– Win Win!
You can offer your customer products that you
know they will like and give them first refusal.
Every time you contact them, you’ll be back in
their minds and most probably first on their list when they need something
special.
Market research. You can always contact them and
ask their valuable opinion about your product or service and how you may
improve. People LOVE to help
You can keep them informed
of any craft fairs or markets you are visiting and tell them that you’d love to
see them again.
Play nicely!
If you want to loose customers probably the
best way to do this is to insist they part with their details willy nilly.
Avoid this tactic at all costs!
Don’t think for one minute people will hand over
this info without there being something in it for them. It’s human nature!
Large store offer incentives for you to have one
of their store cards, perhaps extra points or a discount on that purchase.
I know that in your small business, where you’ve
cut your prices to the core offering a discount may leave a nasty taste in your
mouth.
So let’s look at an alternative:
How about offering entry into a free prize draw
to win
(insert a small incentive that won’t make you
bankrupt).
In my own business I offer entry into a Wedding
Postbox Draw. The draws take place on 21st March, 21st
June, 21st September & 21st of December. Entry is
free and on the draw forms I ask for
The couples names – So I can email them
personally using their first names
Their address – To give me a clue as to their
location
Their wedding venue – So I can judge their overall
budget and target the marketing to suit their pockets.
The date of their wedding – It’s pointless
offering them wedding stationery after the event has long since been and gone.
Their email address – as a point of contact
Their wedding colours and theme – Again for
target marketing.
Perhaps you could do something like this in your
business? Even if it’s just 1 prize draw a year?
If you sell or make baby items, then the above
idea would easily transfer.
You could offer a discount coupon for them to
use on their next purchase either at your next craft fair or market or off your
website.
With larger more expensive purchases the
incentive can be much higher (of course).
What ways do you use to collect customers
information?
What incentives do you offer?
What other ways can you think of to make this
work for both you AND the client?
Please leave a comment below or come and join us
in our FREE Hand Made Yorkshire Collective Page we’d love to hear from you.
Bright blessings & Happy Crafting,
Sue x
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