“Touch” Your Customers
Archives: Daily Issues
Issue #2546
- WEALTHY: Should you avoid aggressive spenders? (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: Go ahead – enjoy the holiday spirits (James B. LaValle)
- WISE: Jeff Bezos on the customer experience
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The one New Year’s resolution every businessperson should make (Bob Bly)
- Filling paper bags with holiday cheer (Suzanne Richardson)
- It’s Fun to Know… the legend of the gift-giving witch
- Add “balletomane” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
A Full-Fledged Economic Recovery Plan for You and Your Family
I don’t have to tell you how rough 2008 has been. Wall Street and real estate markets in chaos… 401(k) and savings accounts dwindling in front of our very eyes… Banks, government, centuries-old “solid” industries… all in trouble.
It’s hard to feel secure about whether you’ll EVER be able to pay off your mortgage or buy a house… never mind look forward to an early (or even comfortable) retirement.
Let’s face it. You need a rescue plan just as badly as Wall Street and Main Street.
But not just ANY rescue plan… and certainly not a one-trick-pony “handout”. You need a safe, solid and proven strategy that has the potential and the power to start churning out money quickly… and do so for the rest of your life.
Early to Rise has put together such a strategy.
Never a Bad Time to Spend Wisely
Splurging in the middle of a recession is a no-no by Wall Street’s lights. They’re very good at punishing companies that can’t rein in spending when the economy goes into a tailspin (like now). The thinking is, a company can’t increase sales in a recession and shouldn’t try. They can only hope to cut costs to sustain profits. But this particular piece of conventional wisdom doesn’t always hold true. In the recession of 1989 to 1991, many companies that dared to spend aggressively on advertising were amply rewarded…
- Jif peanut butter raised ad support and sales went up 57 percent.
- Kraft salad dressings saw a rise of 70 percent.
- Bud Light and Coors Light spent more than the average on marketing, and ramped up sales by 15 percent. (Overall, beer sales were down 1 percent.)
- With aggressive advertising, Pizza Hut sales rose 61 percent, and Taco Bell’s rose 40 percent.
At the same time, companies that didn’t spend on advertising suffered the consequences. Mickie D’s sales went down about 28 percent. Jell-O, Crisco, Hellmann’s, Green Giant, and Doritos suffered sales losses of 26-64 percent.
And there are studies that point to business-to-business companies getting good results from spending that supports sales during a recession. During the recession of 1981-82, companies that spent aggressively on advertising averaged significantly higher sales volume not only during the recession but for the following three years.
Investors looking for companies like these can search for them on Yahoo and other financial sites by “sales” or “revenue” (look for increasing sales in the last three or 12 months). Further research will most likely reveal that the money they spent on advertising also went up.
Search engines have no category that tracks spending in support of sales. But I like doing it “backward.” In the end, you don’t care why sales go up as long as they do. When you hear so-called experts on TV complaining about a company failing to cut back on costs and/or spending, take it with a grain of salt. Smart strong spending in support of sales can help a company grow – even in the worst of times.
This is a good lesson not only for investors but also for small businesses. It comes down to this: Smart spending is always smart, regardless of what the economy is doing. And stupid spending is always stupid. Companies seemingly get away with it when the economy is good. But when it stalls, stupid spending (think auto companies) catches up to them in a hurry.
[Ed. Note: Some of the smartest spending you can do is on yourself and your financial future. Start an Internet business, and you could end up making $100,000 to $25 million a year. Learn how to do it here.
Andrew Gordon, ETR's Investment Director, can show you how to spot the "red flag" signals that could predict (with as much as 92 percent certainty) when a company's stock is going to tank. Learn more here.]
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”
Jeff Bezos
Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever – Resolution #2: “Touch” Your Customers
By Bob Bly
I have a single sign posted in my office, taped to the wall next to my desk. On it are only two words: CUSTOMER CONTACT.
It is there to remind me – even to force me – to do more of the task I am always tempted to let slide: talking more frequently to my clients and customers.
Let’s face it. In today’s Internet world, it’s easy to stay in your hidey hole, avoid people, and just sit at your PC reading, writing, and thinking… which is what I’ve essentially designed my businesses to allow me to do! But the problem is that you become too isolated from the very people you are in business to serve.
E-mail has turned into a shield that allows people to avoid the stress of telephone calls and face-to-face meetings. Yes, working remotely by e-mail is extremely efficient. But it has the unfortunate effect of insulating you from the true emotions, fears, concerns, and desires of your market.
So here’s the New Year’s Resolution I recommend for you.
Type in the words CUSTOMER CONTACT in all caps, boldface, and at least 72-point type. Print it out, and tape it to your PC or the wall above your monitor.
Then look at that piece of paper several times a day, read it, and do what it’s reminding you to do: have more contact with your customers.
“But Bob,” you may be thinking, “I’m already too busy. If I spend the day talking to our customers, I won’t have any time to get my work done.”
Here’s what I do in my Internet information marketing business. It may work for you, too…
Like most Internet marketers, we get a lot of communication from customers – both through e-mail and phone calls. It is a combination of compliments, complaints, problems, and questions. The questions range from the mundane (“Your shopping cart declined my credit card”) to the thoughtful (queries about advice or instruction given in our e-books or audio courses).
I have hired an Internet Marketing Administrator, Jodi, whose job it is to take care of all these queries – because I simply don’t have time. So I instantly pass on to her every customer service request or communication (our “white mail”) the minute I receive it.
But I do something to add a personal touch… and increase my own level of customer contact. I advise you to do the same.
Pass most of your white mail on to an assistant to ensure prompt, efficient handling of timely requests and complaints. But read it all first. You will find that you can respond appropriately to some with a single sentence or even a few words (e.g., “Thanks” or “Glad to hear you liked my book”).
Your customers – especially the ones who are your fans – will be thrilled to hear from you personally. Maybe you can handle 10 percent of your white mail this way.
A smaller percentage will ask you questions that require a more thoughtful answer. Each week, spend a half-hour typing out and sending customized e-mail answers to them. Do not charge for this advice. Your customers will reward you with incredible loyalty, referrals, and additional purchases.
Save all the questions and the answers. You may be able to turn them into another information product you can sell – e.g., “101 Questions about X and One Good Answer to Each.” (If you do that, do not use the names of the people who asked the questions.)
And what about complaints?
Answer the most thoughtful of the legitimate ones – those from obviously intelligent and decent folks – with a personal e-mail. Then add this P.S.: “I’ve attached a small free gift to compensate you for your problem.” And attach to your e-mail reply a PDF of one of your bonus reports or e-books.
By the way, I got this idea from Steve Leveen, founder of Levenger. In a talk he gave at one of the American Writers and Artists Inc. (AWAI) copywriting bootcamps, Steve mentioned that he answered many customer complaints with a personal letter… actually written by him… and often sent the dissatisfied customer a free gift.
It worked for Steve, it works for me, and it can work for you.
And what about the insulting, rude, or nasty white mail?
Do not respond, tempted as you may be. Pass all of it on to your assistant with instructions to answer as politely, completely, and helpfully as possible. (You are emotionally invested in your business, so jerks may make you see red. It’s better to let someone who is more neutral handle those negative or difficult people.)
That’s it. That’s my suggestion for your New Year’s Resolution: Get closer to your customers by communicating with them more often and more personally.
[Ed. Note: Personal, frequent contact with your customers and prospects is one of the best ways to build solid relationships with them. Starting an e-mail newsletter - filled with relevant, useful advice - is a perfect way to do it. For a step-by-step guide to setting up your own info-publishing business - including starting an e-newsletter, creating a website, and writing copy to drive traffic to it - sign up for ETR's Internet Money Club. See if there are any spots left for the "Class" of 2009 right here.
To learn more marketing secrets from freelance copywriter and marketing expert Bob Bly, sign up for his free e-zine, the Direct Response Letter. Do so today and get $116 in bonuses.]
Your Special Holiday Gift from Early to Rise
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He Might Be a Very Successful Investor, But You’ll Never See Him on CNN!
The Wall Street financial jackals extract their “take” from investors just like you.
They perpetuate the myth, “Buy into good companies and hold on for the long term.” Sure, sometimes these stocks go up, but they also go down. In the meantime, these greedy insiders make money either way. They can do it because they’re playing with a whole different set of rules.
One Wall Street Insider has jumped ship and started on his own path to profits. And he’s ready to give you all of his insider secrets so you too can make money no matter what the market does.
Of course, he wants to keep making these cash withdrawals himself… so he can only share these secrets with a limited number of folks. If you want to stop being one of the sheep and join him at the table of success with all of those blueblood financial elitists, please read the following report.
A Toast to Your Health
Mulled wine, Champagne, hot toddies… the holidays are here. And many of us are tempted to drink a little more alcohol than we’re used to. But what’s the story? Should you down that Irish coffee pushed on you by your host? Or pass?
Several studies over the last 10 years have found that moderate drinking actually may have some benefits. For instance, it seems to lower blood sugar and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. But before you overindulge, remember that the healthy definition of “moderate” is pretty low. Furthermore, the definition of moderate is different for women than for men.
Moderate drinking means no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. One drink translates to 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that two-thirds of women and half of all men usually drink more than this.
Ladies, be especially cautious! According to the Harvard School of Public Health, one drink per day increases your risk of breast cancer by 10 percent – and two to five drinks per day increases your risk by 40 percent. The good news is that increasing your intake of folate may erase the cancer risk (according to an Australian study in the British Medical Journal). Foods high in folate include beef liver, spinach, great northern beans, asparagus, green peas, broccoli, avocado, lettuce, and turnip greens.
Once you exceed “moderate” (as defined above), your risks start to increase – linked to a 70 percent increased risk for high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and dangerous belly fat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So for better health this holiday season, try to keep your drinking down to the true definition of moderation. When it comes to alcohol, more is not better!
[Ed. Note: Facing the holiday season and all its unhealthy choices can be overwhelming. Let ETR's health experts help. You can get advice from fitness and nutrition experts - and their interpretations of the latest breakthroughs in health - in ETR's free natural health e-letter. Sign up today.
It truly is possible to improve your health just by making wise choices when it comes to your diet and lifestyle. James B. LaValle, RPh, ND, CCN - founder of the LaValle Metabolic Institute and a nationally recognized expert on natural therapies - can give you easy-to-understand directions for living the healthy life you've always wanted. Learn how to feel better and live longer right here.]
My Favorite Holiday Tradition: Sharing the Wealth
On the outside, the church looked empty. Inside, it was a buzzing hive of activity.
Men and women formed makeshift assembly lines, popping Barbie dolls and teddy bears and Ninja Turtle pajamas into boxes. Others filled paper sacks with canned yams and string beans, boxes of Stovetop stuffing, and mesh bags full of potatoes. Frozen turkeys were added later.
When I was in high school, my best friend and I always volunteered to help.
Sometimes we would fill those bags and boxes with toys and food. We’d base the contents on lists that described the needs of the families we were “shopping” for. (This family has a baby – don’t forget the formula and diapers. This family has a wheat allergy – so leave out the bread. This family has a little boy – make sure you include a monster truck.)
Other times, we’d stand at the door, gathering stuffed animals and board games, underwear and socks, canned cranberry sauce and carrots from red-nosed, bundled-up donors, and then distribute them to the people working inside.
Once filled, the bags and boxes would be handed off to other volunteers, who’d swoop them off to the Salvation Army to be picked up by the families in need.
There’s so much to be thankful for around the holidays. And I loved those days of helping to make Christmas a little merrier for people going through a rough time.
[Ed. Note: What's your favorite holiday tradition? Let us know right here.]
It’s Fun to Know: The Legend of the Gift-Giving Witch
According to Italian folklore, it’s not Santa Claus who gives presents to good little boys and girls. Instead, La Befana, a good witch, travels the country by broomstick on Epiphany Eve (the night before January 6). She fills the stockings of good children with goodies, but leaves only coal for those who have been naughty. (These days, parents put carbone dulce (“sugar charcoal”), a rock candy that looks like coal, in their children’s stockings as a joke.)
The story behind the legend is that the Three Wise Men invited La Befana to go with them to visit the newborn Christ child, but she declined because she had housework to do. When she was done she set off to join them, but got lost. Every year, she continues her search on Epiphany Eve, giving presents (or coal) to all the children along the way.
(Source: About.com)
== Highly Recommended ==
Billionaires Are NOT Born – They’re Made
You might be thinking, “It takes money to make money.”
And that the only way to become filthy rich is to be born into it.
But you’d be dead wrong.
Four men climbed their way up the billionaire ladder. One was a factory worker… another began as a file clerk… and two others toiled as a grocer and a shop assistant.
They never based making their fortune on “luck” or connections.
Nor did they have “daddy’s money” to bank roll them.
And yet, they all went from zeros to heroes.
Now, you can crack the very same “wealth code” that put them on the path to massive wealth.
Word to the Wise: Balletomane
A “balletomane” (ba-LET-uh-mane) – derived from “ballet” + “mania” – is an ardent admirer of the ballet.
Example (as used by Jennifer Balderama in a New York Times review of Reading Dance, edited by Robert Gottlieb): “This is, in short, one big brick of dance-nut manna, a loving exhaustive compilation by an editor-balletomane of sterling pedigree.”
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
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My favorite holiday tradition…
Our Church goes to nursing homes in our area, singing Christmas songs and giving small hand made presents to the folks there. It is great fun, and everyone enjoys themselves.
Not to spoil the Christmas spirit but the self-starting videos are proving an irritant to me – why not give readers the choice to view the video or not? Thank you.
1) I donate bags of food, blankets, etc. to the boxes for the needy. 2) Donate to the salvation army – this year mainly to the soldiers, as well as via Newsmax to their “operation calling card” (via Red Cross), getting one for each person I know (who I would send cards to), so the soldiers can make calls to home (the other was for the rest of their needs – as the Red Cross sees fit.)
3) Visit rest homes and talk to the elderly. 4) Say “happy holidays” to everyone I meet while walking or if I run into someone who’s eye I catch (shopping, grocery store, etc.). I see what kind of response I get. (I am happy with about 80%, and find the elderly happy to talk. I take the time.) 5) I go to a church (which I rarely do at all, even though I do believe in a “higher being”), normally one I have heard about from someone. Then I give to that church – if I see what they are doing is good (usually from a person or paper – I get advice on where to go). AND…Just a smile, greeting, etc. can make the holidays happy to many people. (Funny about those who don’t respond – I think some may be sad, which I usually can tell – as well as if they don’t want to talk.) If they do, then I give them the time. If not – then I have lost nothing. (PS, I ALWAYS make over people’s kids, especially babies. I am a woman, so it doesn’t seem “weird”, but it is too bad kids aren’t allowed to talk to “strangers”, as some parents sill question why I want to tell them what cute kids they have, and how lucky they are – and to have a nice life! (That’s it, but some do act like I am “intruding” as well as their kids who are told not to talk to strangers – question why their parents do.) Oh well, at least I have tried!