Pure Gould:

Archive for July, 2010

Please Do Not Ask for Credit as a Smack in the Teeth Often Offends

Friday, 23 July 2010

Have you discovered that, “When it’s raining, the bank repossesses your umbrella”?

Cash is now king; unfortunately, much of yours may be in your customers’ pockets, or of those, in turn, who owe them money. You don’t want to offend them, but you need your bills paid.

The first approach is a series of polite reminder letters. Service letters, like these, can be important out of all proportion to their length and you must hit the right note.

A few minutes spent agonising over the wording may save you many lost orders later, and once done they can be filed, as a stock letter, secure in the knowledge that they will be effective but not offensive. Get in touch »

Are Your Customers Always In Distress?

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Distress purchases happen when something breaks down terminally like Monty Python’s parrot; classically, refrigerators and other household kit and motor cars. IT specialists get it, big time, when computers crash.

These are the sales that walk off your shop floor, or forecourt, because the customer needs them NOW. But what happens afterwards?

Those same customers may want other items, or services for them, but they may only associate you with the product they bought, when you could supply so many others. They were satisfied with your service, so satisfied they never needed to return. Have you kept in touch? Have you got their details? Did you even put a self adhesive label on the product to tell them who to call for service?

Perhaps the next guy did. Satisfied customers are the low-hanging fruit it is easy to sell to again. Don’t lose their details, do keep in touch, by letter, flyer, or special offer, then when they are in need, even if not distress, they will think of you first. All the statistics about direct mail go out the window when you use a list of your existing customers. I have special programmes to help spread the cost of a sustained contact campaign – get in touch.

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