Sign Them Up and Keep Them for Life

By Tony Gattari and Achievers Group

There is a sporting goods retailer that has been operating for almost 30 years. It started from humble beginnings in a small shop on a main road. As time went on the store attracted a loyal following and the owner had to expand the store.

Every time someone came to the register they were asked if they would like to be on the mailing list to receive a catalogue. This retailer would send out two catalogues each year and people young and old would wait anxiously for it. Once it arrived the customer would make the pilgrimage to the store, not only to purchase new sporting equipment, but also to marvel at the extensive range of products.

During the recession, while many businesses closed, this retailer moved to larger premises. This retailer was now an institution. The mail order department would ship goods to the USA, South-East Asia, Africa, UK and Europe. The mailing list which started by signing up locals from the area became a subscription of 80,000 people. This retailer spent most of its advertising budget on its catalogues, opened five new stores and became the largest in its category in the world. All because the owner built a database, and taught his staff to ask people if they would like to be on the mailing list.

While searching for new customers is important, why not work on keeping existing customers for life? In a highly competitive environment, being consistent and treating customers like family may require you to keep in touch with them on a regular basis. Collecting your customers' names and measuring their transactions on a database is a great tool to start the process of communicating with your customers. You can then test and measure the effectiveness of this communication by measuring:

* The number of times the customer purchases from you.
* The average spend of your loyal customers, versus other transactions.
* What your loyal customers buy from you, so that you can focus your energy on these areas of your business.

Also, by effectively communicating to your loyal customers you can reduce the cost of customer acquisition over time, as you can move your costly spending on blanketed marketing efforts to a more refined campaign that is targeted at people who you know will buy from you.