Less is more

Here's an interesting fact from careerbuilder.com:

Less is more.

Edit your email content to be as succinct as possible. The best performing email of 2007 contained only 65 words and received a click-through rate 4x higher than average. It was concise, had a clickable clear call to action and was relevant to the target audience.

Why Reward Customers?

A good rewards program serves one main function:

Rewarding customer loyalty increases sales and reduces costs by increasing customer share.

Effective reward programs accelerate the loyalty life cycle, encouraging first- or second-year customers to behave like a company’s most profitable tenth-year customers. Although we rarely measure promotion expense on a per-customer basis, it is not uncommon for the cost of acquiring a new customer to exceed $1000.

A Good Reward Program...

There are several elements to developing a reward program that will effectively build loyalty. A good reward program generally has the following aspects:

1. Customers are told how they will be rewarded.
While customers may appreciate an unexpected thank-you, reward programs work better if you tell the customer up front how much of a thank you they will get.

2. Appropriate rewards.
The following are key attributes of appropriate rewards:

Cash Value. The customer perceives the reward as having a tangible value.

Choice. The customer has choice as to which reward they receive.

Aspirational Value. An exciting reward can make a reward enticing beyond it's strict cash value. A free chocolate cappuccino has a higher aspirational value than a $1.59.

Relevance. The reward should be clearly associated with the business. When the reward is 'free' it can encourage customers to try other products and service offered by the business.

3. Consider Timing Carefully.
Don't offer the reward too quickly or too slowly. A reward offered too quickly will be seen as a promotional offer as opposed to a reward. This discourages, rather than encourages loyal behavior. A reward offered too late will be perceived as either unobtainable or of little value.

5 simple tips to build your email database

With so much junk email nowadays, some customers may be cautious about giving you their email address. No problem! Just follow these time-tested suggestions and you’ll build a substantial customer marketing database quickly and easily. And the sooner you start the better!

TIP #1: Just ask!
Don't expect customers to sign up without any prompting. Simply ask, "Would you like some free gift certificates for a future visit?" After they say, "YES!" (and most will), simply hand them an Enrollment Ticket and pen and say, "Great! Just fill out the back and we'll send them to you!" Then don't say another word until they complete the form and hand it back. You're helping customers save money... and they'll love you for it!

TIP #2: Make It Easy!
Using the same question in TIP #1 above, this technique makes it a "no-brainer" for your customers to enroll. When they respond, "YES!" simply ask their first name and YOU write it on the Enrollment Ticket... then ask for their email address and YOU write it down. The less you say and the simpler you say it... the more customers you'll register.

TIP #3: Reassure Them!
If they're still unsure, tell them, "We don't send junk mail... don't worry about that. All you get are [YOUR COMPANY NAME] Gift Certificates, like 'Buy-One-Get-One-Free... Dollars Off... Free _____' [customize for your business]. We don't use your email address for anything else. If you don't like it, you just cancel." At this point, you'll likely have greater success collecting the name and email address for them, as discussed in TIP #2, above. In which case, simply act as if they're ready to enroll and immediately say, "Let me just get your first name..."

TIP #4: Supercharge Your Staff!
Several of our clients offer small, but effective incentives to encourage their staff. Example, a pharmacy manager offers his employees $20 for every 20 Enrollment Tickets they get completed. A restaurant owner gives his staff a t-shirt for a certain amount of Tickets collected. A pizza shop owner offers 25¢ per Ticket. Another gives 10¢ each, plus a prize of $30 for the most collected, $20 for second, and $10 for third. Don't worry about paying these small incentives. Your additional sales can easily outweigh the small expense.

TIP #5: Offer a Friendly "Bribe!"
For example, you might offer to take $2 off their current purchase when they either give you their completed Enrollment Ticket, or provide the information you need to complete the Ticket for them. While they're paying ask, "Would you like a $2 discount on this purchase?" After they say "Yes!", simply hand them a Ticket and pen and say, "Great, just jot down your name and email address... we'll take $2 off today's purchase... and send you some gift certificates for next time." Food servers use this idea before presenting checks to their patrons. Try it... it works!

Do you have other creative list growth ideas to share or questions to ask? Email me at Jenna@LoyalRewards.com

Time To Have Fun & Generate Sales

Because If It's Not Fun, It's Just Work

Restaurant Marketing Expert Joel Cohen featured these tips in his 4/15 newletter, Wow #205. Thought these may be helpful to you...

-Restaurants that don't get creative are missing out on a whole bunch of fun and sales. And fun is the best way to keep your staff motivated and put a smile on guest faces. Restaurants have forgotten that weird, whacky and wonderful is a great differentiator when your competitors are doing the same old tired stuff and sending out the same old tired looking email newsletters.

-So what do you do about it? Try getting out of the way of the same old thing and the same old tapes. There are no rules anymore. Everything's changed. You have guest permission to be entertaining, to start a fun department with your staff and to even change your title on your business card to "Director Of Fun."

Show What You're Selling!

If what you're selling is worth buying… it's also worth showing! Don't just talk about your food… show it! Don't just say how much your brake service is… show a mechanic doing the work! Don't just run a coupon for $20 off a massage… show someone enjoying the service in a beautiful, relaxing setting. Remember: the idea is to put images into people's heads. The easiest way to do this is with photos and illustrations!