Having an automated greeting card system is a must for maximizing customer retention. With the right system, not only is the process fast and easy, it can be less expensive than buying retail. Yet, your customers get the same benefit of receiving a physical greeting card through the mail – even though you sent it from your computer and never actually handled the card yourself!
1. Customer Retention Vs. Acquisition
Your greeting card system is a cost and time effective customer retention strategy. It is generally accepted that it is much more productive to maintain customer relationships you already have formed than it is to find and build new customer relationships.
2. It’s Easy to Productively Stay in Touch with Your Customers
Key to good customer retention is staying in front of your customers in such as way as to make it easy for them to contact you and to make them wish to do so. With customer retention cards, you can do both by printing your contact information inside the greeting card and announcing a special, discount, or upcoming event, at very little cost to you.
3. Greeting Cards Have a High Perceived Value
Greeting cards are far more likely to be opened and saved than emails or fliers. Because greeting cards are seen as more personal than emails, they are an excellent tool for maintaining customer relationships.
4. Individual Customers Don’t Fall Through the Cracks
An automated system will not only send out the greeting cards on the designated dates for you, but you can launch a campaign sending cards to everyone on your list at the touch of a couple of buttons.
5. The Greeting Card System Acts as a Contact Manager
Since the automated greeting card system holds your contact information, as well as anniversary dates, birthdays, and any other information you care to save, everything you need is stored within the system.
6. Customer Retention Depends on Good Service and Value
Use your customer retention cards to send reminder notes of when an appointment is due, or when product supplies may be running low. Customers will appreciate these non-intrusive reminders, especially when they come with the contact information handy as well as any updated information they may need.
7. Customized Cards Make Your Customers Feel Special
You can customize individual greeting cards – such as including a photo of a family leaving with their new pet from your pet store as the front of the card.
Or, you can customize a campaign by choosing from themes already stored in your greeting card system – medical, office, real estate, friendship, etc. or creating your own – placing a photo of yourself, or your business card as the front of your greeting card.
Any time your customers feel you have gone “the extra mile” for them by including a personal note (in your own handwriting, thanks to your personalized handwriting font), your customer retention stats will climb.
8. Creative Cards Make Marketing Fun
Creatively stay in touch with your customers. Use the inside of your greeting card, post card, or tri fold brochure to post upcoming sales dates or your workshop schedule.
If you own a restaurant, photograph this month’s “special” and send it to your patrons along with a discount coupon.
Redecorating? Put a photo of your new reception room with plush comfortable seats on the front of your card.
Have you been recognized in your field for excellence? Share the news with your customers – I love knowing my dentist is one of the top practitioners in the area – it makes me feel I know how to pick ‘em!
Celebrate your employees by featuring them on your greeting card – this helps to build a relationship between your customers and your staff as well.
9. The Best System is the One You’ll Use
The easier it is to stay in touch with your customers; the more likely you are to actually do it!
Time management is critical. With so much to keep up with in a business, time doesn’t always allow for added luxuries like staying in individual contact with customers. Yet, this is one of the most important areas for your marketing efforts.
10. You Can Share Campaigns with Friends and Colleagues
Maybe you aren’t the creative type and have no idea how to go about making an effective greeting card campaign. Or maybe a friend of yours is extremely clever at taking photos, adding captions, and coming up with new ideas for the cards you send.
An automated greeting card system will allow you to share these ideas. All you have to do is click one button to put the card in your system, and another to send it to your list!
When it comes to customer retention, you have to be the one that stands out from your competitors. Remembering your customers with high quality greeting cards is one way to do that.
For a video walk through to see how the greeting card system I use works, CLICK HERE. Contact me if you prefer me to take you through the system myself - just fill out the "contact me" form on the right or book a free appointment with me by clicking on the "Book Now" button also on the right .
For other ideas on how to “romance your customers” check out my ebook, Romancing the Sale: How to Build and Maintain Highly Profitable Customer Relationships that Last.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 10:31AM 
Barbara Silva
