|
- Send your customers a personalized holiday card. It will go further than a standard form card with no personal message.
- If cards don’t fit in your budget this year, consider sending a hand-written note instead.
- Hold an open house for your most loyal clients to showcase your place of business. Invite a local children’s chorus or charity to show off their art and serve wine and inexpensive hors d'oeuvres.
- Offer your clients a gift-with-purchase or other special offer that is only available for existing clients.
- Position yourself as an expert by creating a Top Ten Tips sheet, which you can send to reporters, post on your Web site and distribute to your clients. Use your business knowledge, give it a holiday twist and have fun. You clients will get a kick out of anything from “10 Hot Holiday Destinations” to “Top 10 Wines for the Holidays” to “Top 10 Tips to Braving the Black Friday Crowds at Toys R Us.”
- Devote one afternoon to making personal phone calls to each of your clients, for no other reason than to thank them for their business.
- Consider sending out Thanksgiving cards. Your card will stand out because it’s different than most others and arrives earlier.
- Reiterate the value that your clients are getting with your service. If they regularly see the positives that come with using your business, it will make it hard for them to switch.
- Take the time to ask your clients what you can do better in the new year. Ask if there are any products or services you don’t currently offer that they’d like to see, if there’s anything they’d like you to pay a bit more attention to, etc. They’ll appreciate that you value their opinion.
- Take the thank you note one step further by sending a holiday newsletter or e-newsletter. Take the time to thank your clients, share a few accomplishments your business made during the past year and showcase photos of select work you’ve done (which would also indirectly promote your clients).
1. Be proactive.
Take your reputation into your own hands by using applications like Facebook, LinkedIn or a personal blog to create positive content about yourself online. Be a guest blogger on a recognized site relevant to your industry or have others recommend you on their reputable sites. The more positive content there is about you online, and the harder you work to keep it current, the quicker any negative content will drop off the map.
2. Don’t buy into negativity.
Realize that most people who feel that they’ve been wronged will act in the heat of the moment. Don’t do the same. If someone trashes you online, send them correct information right away. Ask them to remove the unflattering information once they understand your point and hope for the best. Avoid getting in a back-and-forth discussion – in most cases it will just escalate things.
3. Get Google on your side.
Be the first to know when someone is buzzing about you. Set up a Google Alert for yourself at www.google.com/alerts so that you’re made aware anytime your name is posted online.
4. Take responsibility.
Be sincere and own up to your mistakes. When you do something wrong, apologize and take steps to fix it. Make sure people know that your mistake was just an isolated incident and that it won’t happen again – and then work to make sure it doesn’t.
5. Check up on yourself.
A Pew Internet and American Life Project Survey found that 47 percent of Internet users have searched online for information about themselves, but only 3 percent report doing so regularly. Spend a few minutes each week to do a quick check-up – you’ll rest assured knowing you have a solid online reputation and your career will prosper as potential clients find only positive things when they Google your name.
1. Incentives should relate to your product or service.
Brainstorm with your staff about what could possibly be holding your customer back from making a purchase. Think about what your company can do to smooth that transition.
Try this: Imagine your customer talking to his boss about why they should buy your product. “If we buy this, I will get a free GPS” won’t go as far as “If we buy this, we will get our first month of service for free.”
2. Offer incentives that make it easy for your customer to persuade his decision-makers.
All too often, one person is excited about a product or service, but has to convince others before signing on the dotted line. Offer incentives that make it easy for him to sell the idea – be sure to address the inevitable “budget” issue.
Try this: Offer to teach your customer how to use his or her new product for free. Or, if possible, offer your product or service to the customer in smaller bits so they don’t get overwhelmed with the “all-at-one-time” purchase.
3. Incentives should be easy-to-understand.
Customers will surely ignore an incentive that is too complex. Remember that customers are offered deals and incentives all the time – they are likely to remember only the ones that are simple and to-the-point.
Try this: Explain your incentive in one short sentence: “Buy one get one free,” “Buy this, get this,” “Spend this amount, get this amount off your next purchase.”
4. Address their biggest concern.
In this economy, the decision to purchase – or not purchase – usually comes down to money. Keep this in mind and offer incentives that make good economic sense. Offer a special discount or an “extra” if customers buy by a certain date to prevent stalls in the decision-making process, or offer discounts during your business’ slower period.
Try this: If your product is prone to price increases (whether it’s affected by fuel costs, material costs, etc.), offer to lock in the price for a certain period of time if a customer purchases by a given date. Offer to throw in something that goes with their product for free if they purchase by a given date.
5. Give your customers a safety net.
Any customer who purchases your product is going out on a limb. They’re giving up valuable money for something they may or may not be happy with. It’s a gamble, and realizing this will help you create an incentive to offer your client some security. Make the biggest promise possible that you know you can deliver. By doing so, you’ll be installing an instant security net and positioning your company as a responsible, dependable one.
Try this: Say, “If we don’t get this installed/completed/set-up/built/etc. by X date, your first year of maintenance is free.” Also, ask your customers and potential customers what would make it easier to say yes to you, and how other companies have encouraged them to purchase. You’ll be getting great ideas that will actually work.
1. Put you on the map
A good Web site, built with search engine optimization, should appear at or near the top of the search results list when someone looks for your organization – or searches for organizations with causes similar to yours. If your info isn’t out there, how are people going to find it? A good Web site puts your organization on the map, allowing you to reach those in important social, professional and governmental circles – people who may have the power to either contribute themselves or get a motion passed to benefit your cause. Web sites keep it simple and visual. Visitors like seeing the staff’s names and e-mail addresses, board member listing and detailed contact information spelled out in black and white. Sites can offer options which make sending a message as convenient as filling out a form – and people like convenience.
2. Fundraising
Your Web site can easily relay your specific causes and call-to-action. With the dramatic improvement in secure online data transmission, people are comfortable making donations online. PayPal and Amazon now provide free tools to help nonprofit Web sites transmit credit card donations – saving you money and giving you peace of mind. Building a donor database in this way will prove to help you in the future as well – as you’ll have a pool of contacts who you know have an interest in your organization and just may donate again when you need them.
3. Volunteer recruitment
You can use your contact form to easily capture information from those interested in volunteering. Potential volunteers can read about your organization and the specifics of your volunteer program, and can easily submit their contact information if they’re interested. Your Web site automatically sends you the inquiry so you can follow-up.
A strong Web presence is critical to the success of nonprofits. It provides a solid economic basis for additional revenue (donations), cost savings and enhanced services to members, volunteers and the public. Since most nonprofits are understaffed, the labor savings and efficiencies gained with a comprehensive Web site can mean the difference between success or failure
What percentage of consumers take action after viewing an ad on a local newspaper’s Web site?
According to a recent report by the Online Publishers Association, local media sites hold a distinct advantage when it comes to delivering results for advertisers. Forty-six percent of consumers take action after viewing advertisements on a local newspaper site.
Percent of consumers taking action after viewing local ads:
- 46% local newspaper sites
- 44% local TV site
- 42% local magazine site
- 39% user review site
|
