I’m going to share with you a business-building technique that is extremely powerful, yet almost totally overlooked (or used improperly).

It’s simply… saying "thank you" to your customers.

You might be thinking, "Saying thank you to our customers for their business is not any big secret. What are you trying to pull here?"

Just hold onto your horses, and I think you’ll see how wonderful this can be.

You might be sending out some kind of a thank-you note to your customers – maybe with a special "gift" offer attached to it. But unless you have a strategic use for the sales those notes generate, it’s usually not worth it to send them out. Remember, you want to elicit direct actions from your customers. The stuff that results in dollars being directly deposited into your account.

That said, let me show you what I’m talking about.

A few years ago, I completed a series of teleseminars. The people who listened to this "Web Copy Secrets Mastery" series live each paid $397 to be on the calls. I thought that would make them good prospects for some of our other higher-end Internet marketing training programs.

Now, as you know from reading ETR, a customer is a better prospect for another similar product right after they make a purchase than if you wait weeks or months to contact them. Which means that the sooner you contact a customer to thank them (and offer them something else), the better.

So when the Web Copy Secrets sessions were over, I sent the 65 people who had initially signed up a simple postcard. When I say simple, I mean it. I did it with a service called "Amazing Mail" (amazingmail.com) that sends out color postcards for you. It costs about a buck each. (Of course, that’s higher than what it would cost to have postcards printed up locally and mail them yourself. But with this service, you can do it with just the click of a mouse. And you can do only one postcard, if that’s all you want.)

It was very cool. It took me about 10 minutes to get the 65 postcards out. I just picked one of their pre-done designs – one with a colorful ocean scene that said "Thanks" across the top. And then, on the back, I wrote this:

"Thanks so much for being part of the recently completed ‘Web Copy Secrets Mastery’ course. I really hope you got a lot out of it. In fact, I learned a lot just by moderating and interviewing all of our wonderful guests!

"Now, as a special thank you, I want to give you a discount on a terrific new product we’ve recently released, called ‘Yanik Silver’s Internet Marketing Secrets Exposed.’ It’s a 3-volume video set from my presentation at the sold-out, $4,995/per person ‘Internet Marketing Lab’ in Washington, DC.

"Here’s the special link for your $50 savings: XXXXXXXXXX

"Best, Yanik"

Could it be any easier?

I don’t think so. It cost me $65 to send out my 65 thank-you postcards. And I wound up making three sales for $750. Figuring in my cost to fulfill the product (the video set), I made about $625. That’s more than a 1,000 percent return on my money. Not bad for something that took me 10 minutes.

Ready to try your own thank-you postcard to make more sales? Here’s a little template any business can use…

"Thanks so much for {your recent purchase of ­­­­_____, taking part in _____, having your gutters cleaned, etc.}. I really hope you _____. {Say something about the benefit your product/service provides.}

"Now, as a special thank you, I want to give you a discount on a terrific new product/service we’ve recently released, ­­­­_____. {Give the name of the product/service, and add just a sentence or two about it.}

"Here’s how you can get your $XX savings: {Give instructions on how the customer can get the deal – by going to a website address, calling a specific number, etc. What action do they need to take?}"

Thank-you notes like this work well for several fundamental reasons.

First, they make your customers feel appreciated. By thanking them, you’re showing that you really do care about their business.

Second, thank-you notes that include a discount or other deal trigger a feeling of obligation in your customer. By giving them something (that’s for real), they want to reciprocate by buying something.

Finally, they work because of a solid direct-marketing principle: "A buyer is a buyer is a buyer."

Here are the five easy steps you can take to use thank-you notes to build your business:

1. Right now, gather up the names of your best customers – those who just bought something from you. They are excellent prospects for another one of your products/services.
2. Create a simple spreadsheet file with their names and addresses.
3. Come up with a preferential deal you can offer them.
4. Go to amazingmail.com and sign up for an account.
5. Send these customers a simple postcard using the template above.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Marketing/Internet, Wealthy .