Easy Money: Riding the waves of repeat business by Lou Martin

Author:Lou Martin [Неизв.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-09-16T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8 – Drop a reminder, if you feel comfortable

I often receive very positive feedback from customers after cleaning their windows the first time. Sometimes they decide that having their windows cleaned is something they would like to have done on a regular basis. As mentioned in the previous chapter, sometimes they even ask me how often I think they should have the service. Sometimes they ask me to contact them, instead of the other way round. In such cases, I feel very comfortable contacting them after the agreed interval.

Some customers are the opposite. They actually fear being thought of as potential repeat business and being targeted for that purpose in the future. They will say to me something like “we’ve got your details.” In other words they’re saying “don’t call use, we’ll call you.” That’s all well and good, and if somebody is trying to drop a hint, it’s a good idea to take the hint.

Each of those two types of customers sits on opposite ends of a pole: one type is saying “call me” while the other is saying “don’t call me.” There are however a whole bunch of customers in between. Some of these may not have gone as far as asking you to call them, but they may have dropped some positive hints. If you don’t hear from them after a long enough interval, and you want their repeat business, and if you feel comfortable doing so, it may be worth your while to contact them.

In the early days of my business this was a strategy I used on the odd occasion when I was trying to drum up a bit more business. Sometimes I felt comfortable phoning people directly, and on other occasions when I didn’t feel comfortable phoning a particular customer directly, I still felt comfortable sending them a reminder letter. When I phoned people directly they often responded in a positive and enthusiastic way. When I sent the letter, it included the following elements:

· A reminder about the length of time that had elapsed since I last cleaned their windows

· An invitation to contact me if they were interested in having their windows cleaned again

· Reassurance that the price would be the same as on the previous occasion

· A special offer: to clean their choice of the following at no extra charge: shower screen or mirrors

When I sent these letters out, obviously not every person responded to them. However, I did get responses and it was a worthwhile exercise. Since I was chasing them for work, I was happy to offer to do the job at the same price and even throw something else in. If you choose to use this strategy, don’t forget the previous chapter. Don’t send out reminders until after an appropriate interval has elapsed, an interval that is typical and appropriate in your business. Don’t leave it too long, because that will be inappropriate too, but don’t jump the gun.

Remember what I said in Chapter 2: that there is already a marked difference in a customer between the first and second visit.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.