For those of you that have used my Candle Party Concepts website in the past, I wanted to let you know that I will be shutting the site down in the next month or so. Over time, I will be adding those ideas to this site, so please make sure you start using this site instead and if there's something specific you want off the other site, copy it down now!
So, thanks to those who have supported that site in the past. I'm just moving things over to this FREE blog to save some money on the website costs. Also, the blog is so much easier to update than the website was so with my limited time (now that I have a toddler running around and another baby on the way), I'll be able to update the blog more often than I could update the website.
7/9/09
Phone Calls AFTER the Order
What a great service it would be if you purchased something (especially if you spent a lot of money) and someone actually called to make sure you were happy with the product and to see if you had any questions.
I've started doing this and because I get mostly voice mail messages, it really only takes 5 to 10 minutes to get through a whole list of people who purchased at a party. I just leave a quick message to tell them I wanted to make sure they were happy with what they ordered & that if they have any questions or if there's anything else I can do for them, to just let me know.
When I do get to talk with someone, I almost always get a VERY positive response & they usually thank me for calling. I also usually get very positive reviews on the products they ordered, which makes me finish the calls feeling even better about the great products I sell. And on the occasional call where someone has a problem with a product, it allows me to fix it quickly for them so they don't get a bad taste in their mouth for our company because a lot of times they might never have contacted me & instead just felt like the product didn't live up to their expectations.
Try some phone calls this week. Call those who have received their product in the last week & see what results you get. Remember to have their receipt handy so you know exactly what they ordered when you are talking with them!
I've started doing this and because I get mostly voice mail messages, it really only takes 5 to 10 minutes to get through a whole list of people who purchased at a party. I just leave a quick message to tell them I wanted to make sure they were happy with what they ordered & that if they have any questions or if there's anything else I can do for them, to just let me know.
When I do get to talk with someone, I almost always get a VERY positive response & they usually thank me for calling. I also usually get very positive reviews on the products they ordered, which makes me finish the calls feeling even better about the great products I sell. And on the occasional call where someone has a problem with a product, it allows me to fix it quickly for them so they don't get a bad taste in their mouth for our company because a lot of times they might never have contacted me & instead just felt like the product didn't live up to their expectations.
Try some phone calls this week. Call those who have received their product in the last week & see what results you get. Remember to have their receipt handy so you know exactly what they ordered when you are talking with them!
7/8/09
Keep in touch with customers using Postcards
I have an e-newsletter that goes out to my customers each month & send out additional e-mails from time to time. I also keep in touch with customers by phone for those who have ordered recently, but I noticed a while back that I had so many customers in my database that didn't have an e-mail address listed (or the e-mail address was no longer a good one). I could've called each one, but I can tell you that I wouldn't have known who most of them were, if they had ever purchased from me (or just expressed interest), & would, therefore, not have a clue as to what to say to them!
I decided to reach out by mail, using postcards! I designed a postcard on www.vistaprint.com. For me, I shared a recipe that was the same as one of our candle fragrances -- so it went WITH my business, but was also something that I was giving for free & not just using to advertise. With a recipe card, I was hoping they'd also add it to their recipe files (instead of just throwing it away) & ALWAYS have my contact information handy.
I purchase 1 pack of FREE postcards from vista print each month (paying just for shipping) & send those out. It does take time to hand-address them and it costs to pay for postage, but I have heard from at least one customer with each mailing. I have received leads for vendor events & even gotten straight out orders from people who I hadn't had contact with in quite a while.
With my huge list of customers, it will take me several months to send a postcard to each person (doing 100 a month). And when I get through the whole list, I'll design a new recipe postcard & start at the beginning again. Customers will hear from me by mail at least once a year this way & I'll be able to reach out to those who don't hear from me through e-mail.
I decided to reach out by mail, using postcards! I designed a postcard on www.vistaprint.com. For me, I shared a recipe that was the same as one of our candle fragrances -- so it went WITH my business, but was also something that I was giving for free & not just using to advertise. With a recipe card, I was hoping they'd also add it to their recipe files (instead of just throwing it away) & ALWAYS have my contact information handy.
I purchase 1 pack of FREE postcards from vista print each month (paying just for shipping) & send those out. It does take time to hand-address them and it costs to pay for postage, but I have heard from at least one customer with each mailing. I have received leads for vendor events & even gotten straight out orders from people who I hadn't had contact with in quite a while.
With my huge list of customers, it will take me several months to send a postcard to each person (doing 100 a month). And when I get through the whole list, I'll design a new recipe postcard & start at the beginning again. Customers will hear from me by mail at least once a year this way & I'll be able to reach out to those who don't hear from me through e-mail.
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