FIRST EMAIL CONTACT - THE WELCOME LETTER Now that someone has finally bought something from you what do you do? On to the next you say… WRONG. The first thing to do in turning buyers into customers is making contact with them. And your first time can also be your last. So here are a few clues to include in that all important Welcome or Thank you email. Stories from the trench. Way back in the 80's when technology didn't matter in building customer relationships, I happened from time to time to buy a suit here or there. There's one place where I really went overboard and fell into some very fine Italian linens for which I am still paying for. After dropping almost 5 big ones, did I hear from this leading fashion shop. Not once. Not a phone call, nor a thank you note or a special promotional offer. And then there was Angelo, a greying salesman who worked for a mid-scale good quality menswear chain. Angelo sold me some suits and shirts and ties, some at a premium price, some I still wear today. The difference between Angelo and my exclusive Italian importer is that Angelo treated me as a client and as a human being. He'd call twice maybe three times a year. There was always some special promotion that he felt would be right for me. And if he hadn't heard from me, he'd call me just to say hello. Times change so Angello was replaced by a younger more effective and aggressive salesman who shows interest only when I'm buying. Relationships was some obscure antiquated concept. Today, you can use technology to do what Angelo accomplished as long as you emulate Angelo's tone. So here are a few tips on what you absolutely have to do, if you want to start building relationships with your customers. Make it personal. You are dealing with human beings. The tone of your email has to be as courteous as can be without becoming intimate. So first, it has to come from a real person and a real person's name should appear in the sender's box. Create an open-me first header. Something like "I personnally want to thank you" gets people to open their email. How personal is personalized. Gauge your target: You wont get far from a "Dear Mr. So-and-So" with an under 30 crowd and a "Dear Jane" will no sit well with a forty-something purchaser of fashion. Use common sense. A a rule: Use "Dear Mrs. So-and-So" and never "Dear Jane" unless you've asked them so and never ever "Dear Jane So-and-So", it is the most impersonal personalization you'll ever get. Acknowledge why you are writing to them. Immediately tell them why you are writing to them. A short one-sentence "I want to thank you for purchasing, signing up for, registrating, etc" confirms the relationship you have with them. It gives you limited permission to talk with them. Then Qualify the benefits of the products or service. Repeat your customer satisfaction policy and guarantees. Refrain from promoting a special offer. You want to create a relationship and not immediately gang up on what could be a valuable customer relationship. Ask them if you can communicate with them on a regular basis. Sign your short note. Give your URL and if possible personalize it for that customer. P.S Yes these still work in an email world - Remind them that you want to be their supplier of choice. State your privacy policy. Always make an "Unsubscribe" option available if you want to keep them as customers. When all that is said, done and sent, you're on your way to creating a wonderful new customer relationship. FREQUENCY: HOW OFTEN IS TOO OFTEN Relevancy is all that matters. But relevant to whom? Only to your customer? And that means your data mining has to establish what is the next best purchase your customers might want. And when that might happen. If you have an on-going relationship with your customers, you should know their frequency threshold. People wont buy clothing on a weekly basis but they want to know seasonal trends and promotions. Each business has its lifecycle and so does each customer. If they just bought 50 pounds of dog food for their 10-pound terrier, you should know when to remind them to buy more. Then again there's a whole bunch of things to consider for their favorite animal. What if you had a terrier health bulletin, published terrier show dates, books about famous terriers, information. You know your business hopefully more than anyone. Use your imagination and then follow some very simple rules to communicate with them. WHAT'S THE SCORE A lot of people come to us and ask what kind of response should they expect from their programs. Is it a response rate or click-trough rate (CTR) of 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25%? Our answer: All of the above. For sure a CTR of 25% is absolutely outstanding but if your giving tickets away to the rock show of the year, there's something wrong in Denmark. A good CTR is when the cost of creating a response on-line is less than the cost of creating a response elsewhere. All rights reserved Copyright by SysDem Systems inc. 1999-2004