When I was growing up, I remember going shopping with my grandmother and recalling how nice everyone was and how the employees greeted the customers coming in and going out of their business. There seemed to be a spirit of thankfulness for the customers and for them choosing that particular business. I also remember that those businesses stayed around forever or at least until the family died off or sold the business. That was then and this is now. It would seem now that the only time employees talk to customers is because there is a problem. Here’s where that customer database system comes into play, but this time use it to record things like birthdays, anniversaries, graduation dates and other personal information about your customers. When the time rolls around for these special days, send a card or email and don’t forget holidays. Remembering small gestures like sending cards, e-cards or even e-mails will keep your customers coming back. Creative marketing can work wonders and cost very little.
You're right, creative marketing is cheap and can work wonders if used right, still, if abused, it can have the exact opposite effects because people may feel their privacy violate if they realize their birthday or graduation date is just marketing information, also people tend to throw away commercial greetings, considering them spam. So the real question is where to draw the line between marketing and intruding in people's lives.
Posted by: General Steel | October 21, 2006 2:25 AM | Permalink to Comment