» Good Luck

What American Express did about my lost gift cards.

Lois Geller — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:06:39 +0000

A few weeks before Christmas, I ordered eight American Express Gift Cards and was disappointed when they didn’t arrive in time for the big day.

Later, I asked Amex about the cards in an email and back came an automatic answer that they’d reply in a day. They did, which was good. Even better, they said they’d invalidated the cards and reinstated my points (and added some more to my account … for my troubles).
I loved that response. Amex tends to be like that; they usually do the right thing.

This reminded me of my friend David Hochberg who was a frequent guest lecturer at the Direct Marketing courses I taught at NYU. David worked at the Lillian Vernon Catalog.

He told us that people who bought a gift through Lillian Vernon catalog but returned it were always happy. Why?
“Because we take everything back, even personalized merchandise, unconditionally” he said. They also tracked everything and learned to their surprise that people who return merchandise purchase more items over a long period of time than any other group.
That makes sense. Obviously, I’m going to be more loyal to American Express now and have already been using their card a lot more often lately. So consider:

1. Make everything “right” for your customers.

2. Give them a little something “extra” for their trouble.

3. It will make you memorable, because the customer is expecting “push-back” from you.

Good Luck

Why would you want to keep a real estate customer, after the sale?

Lois Geller — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:30:03 +0000

They bought the house, and you have your commission check in your hot little hand. Why not say “Bye, Bye” to that customer?

Well, first of all, real estate and all businesses are based on long term relationships. People know people, and meet new ones and can refer you, or even become your friend.

In fact, my art director bought a home from a lady named Christy. He’s been happy there, and she’s kept in touch with him. Last Christmas, she even came to his door with a lovely holiday plant. He invited her in, and remembered that his neighbor across the street had mentioned they were relocating to California.

So, he called up his friend, made the introduction right on the spot. She walked across the street and got the listing, and sold the home quickly.

How many sales do we all lose, because we forget to follow up with past customers. We’re always on a quest for new ones, and those old ones are right under our collective noses.

Take a look at your database and get back in touch with some of those past friends, and see what develops. Good luck and let me know what happens.

I love the art prints, and where is the offer?

Lois Geller — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:00:11 +0000

Recently a client came to our offices to tell us all about his fabulous line of art books. They were great, and we enjoyed seeing the art, before it was published. He mentioned the thickness of the books, the special art historian who was the author, and so on.

Then I asked him the big question: what is your offer? His reply was, “I don’t need an offer”, and “these books are high quality and stand on their own”.

I explained to him that in direct marketing you always need an offer, or you’re just selling retail in the mail. The offer answers the customer’s questions of “what’s in it for me”, and it is really the closer for the sale.

If you think about it, when you go to a regular store at the mall, you are usually on a mission to make a particular purchase. With direct marketing that is not the case at all.

When you get a direct mail piece or read a direct response ad or open up an email, you’re not necessarily in a buying mood for the product I’m trying to sell you. You might not have an immediate need for this beautiful artbook, unless there is a compelling reason or an incentive that will overcome your “sitting at home, or at your office inertia” and get you to buy immediately.

A good offer represents 40 percent of the success of your program and it has to be: believable, creative and involving.

If you want to learn more about crafting a great offer, pick up a copy of my book, Response! The Complete Guide to Profitable Direct Marketing at amazon.com, or at your local library.

Good luck and let me hear about your amazing offer. Maybe I’ll blog about it.