July 2004 Image/Marketing Come Back. Please, Come Back! It's OK to beg, especially when it comes to repeat customers Marketing experts agree the most profitable customers are repeat customers. They cost less to reach, spend more per purchase and shop more often. In fact, for every $100 you might spend persuading an existing customer to buy an item, you would spend $600 to sell the same product to someone new. Unfortunately, your customers aren’t “repeating.” Why? Maybe you haven’t asked them to. According to some research, as much as 60% of business is lost because of the seller’s inaction after a sale. Remember, it takes a strong-willed person to ignore someone’s ceaseless pleas to “Come back. Please, come back!” Start by establishing a relationship with every customer. Keep accurate records of such information as names, addresses, tastes, marital status, family members, birthdays and anniversaries. Never pass up a chance to lavish attention. Send a thank-you note within two days of a sale. They didn’t buy anything? Send one thanking them for the opportunity to show merchandise. Contact buyers a few weeks later to make certain they’re still satisfied. Get in touch again in a couple of months to suggest another piece of jewelry that coordinates with their first purchase. Have flowers delivered on a first anniversary. If a customer buys from you several times, mail tickets to a ball game or theater performance, with “thanks” for their loyalty. Check in once a year, offering to clean a ring or update an appraisal. Customers will not only feel special, they’ll tell others about you. This kind of personal marketing can increase business from 20% to 300%. That’s because customers secretly pine for recognition and acknowledgment of their actions. Remember, too, that jewelers who sell themselves, who form warm relationships by maintaining continuous contact with their customers, rise above the price-point battleground. – by Denise Meyer Denise Meyer is creative director at Fruchtman Marketing, a full-service agency headquartered in Toledo, OH, representing independent jewelers throughout the U.S. Reach the agency by calling Ellen Fruchtman at (419) 539-2770, ellen@fruchtman.com or visit www.fruchtman.com.