Don’t Be Afraid to Say You’re Sorry

When most of us mess up, we’re likely to try to hide it from view. Especially in business, we don’t want our customers to know we’ve made a mistake. But sometimes a simple, personalized letter of apology can be a powerful tool to boost sales and cement customer relationships. 

In a recent blog post, one Forbes contributor tells the story of how a client used a simple direct mail letter to apologize to hundreds of thousands of customers so well, so sincerely, that the company ended up selling more merchandise than it would have without sending the apology letter. 

Why do apology letters work? 

1. They make us human. 

People like to do business with people, not companies. When you apologize for a mistake, especially addressing the person by name and including personal, relevant details to them, it humanizes your company and creates empathy. When done well, it can actually improve the customer relationship. 

2. They make us credible. 

People don’t like to apologize. When a company apologizes, it gets a customer’s attention. That can give you tremendous credibility that can build trust.   

2. It gives you an opportunity to make right. 

Everybody likes when a wrong is made right. Once you’ve got a customer’s attention, a sincere apology letter can turn the mistake into an opportunity to make things right and further cement customer loyalty. 

Apologies aren’t for every situation, but when it merits, don’t be afraid to apologize. Keep it simple. Be sincere. Ditch the corporate language and speak from the heart. Do it really, really well, and you just make turn what was once a negative into something really positive. 

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Using Print to Support Inbound Marketing

One of the fast-growing categories of marketing is inbound marketing, or drawing prospects in using social media, SEO, blogs, and other online content. Using inbound marketing techniques, instead of you finding prospects, your prospects are finding you.  

According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing (2013) survey, nearly 60% of marketers have adopted some kind of inbound marketing strategy and more than 80% of those have integrated inbound marketing into their broader marketing goals. Nearly 50% of marketers have increased their inbound marketing budgets for 2013. 

What makes inbound marketing so valuable is that these respondents are pre-qualified. Because they found you, they have already demonstrated interest in your products or a certain level of trust in your company. Consequently, they are more likely to convert to sales than respondents to outbound marketing techniques. 

According to HubSpot, which coined the term “inbound marketing,” inbound strategies are especially effective for products with high dollar values, products that have long research cycles, and products that are knowledge-based. In these markets, consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that has demonstrated expertise.

This is where print can play a critical role. Although prospects may find you using online channels, you still have to convert them. Because print is a more trusted medium than e-media, printed collateral can provide the depth and trustworthiness of information prospects need to move them along the sales funnel and ultimately to help them make a purchasing decision. 

So coordinate your printed content to support your inbound marketing efforts. For anything promoted through Tweets, blogs, or social media, have four-color informational brochures, printed case studies or use studies, infographics, tri-folds, or other resources ready to go. Think about what information prospects will likely need to make a decision, then have those print materials available. 

Inbound marketing techniques helps draw prospects into the sales funnel. Print helps to convert them to sales. 

Want More Loyalty? Reward Your Customers!

Want more customer loyalty? Considering developing a loyalty program if you don’t already have one.  Not only do loyalty programs help you hang onto those customers you’ve worked so hard to get, but active participants spend more money with the companies whose loyalty programs they participate in. 

Consider the following data: [1] 

• Three-quarters of U.S. consumers used at least one loyalty program in 2011, up from 68 percent in 2009. (Colloquy)
• Seventy percent of persons from higher-income households ($125,000 +) are more loyal to companies that offer rewards programs. (Maritz)
• Customer spending is 46% higher with companies that offer reward card programs. (Total Research Corp & Custom Marketing Corp’s Loyalty Monitor Study)
• 60+% of U.S. households said that loyalty card programs were important in their shopping decisions. (AC Neilsen)

Loyalty programs can be personalized based on individual customer buying habits or you can send general alerts, discounts, and other rewards to all of your participating members. Rewards programs can also be implemented using direct mail, email, and mobile so you can match the marketing channel to the preferences of your customers. 

While many people associate loyalty programs primarily with coupons and discounts, research has shown that over-emphasis on these incentives can actually decrease engagement. For example, among the affluent, offers that give exclusive access or elite status (such as an opportunity to purchase a bottle of wine their own personal batch or receive advanced notice of rare, special-released bottles) can be more effective. 

When developing a loyalty program, think about what really motivates your customers and what is most likely to drive engagement. It may be different for different segments of your audience. Also consider matching marketing channels to customer preferences (direct mail, email, mobile). Like your rewards offers, it might be different for different segments of your audience.  

You’ve worked hard to bring in those new customers. Now keep them!

[1] http://www.loyaltyleaders.org/facts.php?view=all