ENHANCING CUSTOMERS RECALL OF YOU – Best Sales and Marketing Ideas #6

Best Sales and Marketing IDEAS 6:

ENHANCING CUSTOMERS’ RECALL OF YOU

(CONTINUED from Idea #5)

A business card certainly acts as reminder of you, especially early on in relationship with a customer. It is something that is likely to be kept, and it demands an active step to get rid of it, when the customer thinks, I shan’t want to contact them. But how do you boost such a positive effect when time passes and memory dims?

Idea

A host of organization do this badly…

A memory boost to the memory, your profile and the relationship can be created by giving a gift. First, beware of being seen to offer a bribe. It is one thing to give something as a thank you to someone buys regularly from you, but some people might think too much too soon sends the wrong messages, so some care is necessary.

Some care is needed too in selecting something appropriate. Beware, something’s fall flat for reasons like these:

  • It’s too late. The traditional diary given just before Christmas is a case in point. I have lost count of the ones I have received over the years, and I have never used them. I always have a diary on the go by the time the gifts arrive.
  • It’s gone in a flash. A bottle of scotch or some wine may be appreciated, but it‘ll be gone by Boxing Day, and it doesn’t surprise anyone.
  • It’s tacky. No more splodgy ballpoint pens please

What is needed is something that is distinctive, useful, and perhaps unusual. For instance, I carry my business card in a leather case that was this kind of gift (thank you, Marriott Hotels). It is a good example of an item that is likely to be kept even if someone has something similar already. As an example of something useful and more unusual, my book Successful Time Management (Kogan Page) has several times been purchased by companies and used in this way. Showing you are aware of the buyer is busy may be just what you need. (How many copies would you like? Sorry, but if a book on selling can’t contain a few plugs, what can?)

In practice

  • Think about appropriate small gifts, and plan sufficiently far ahead to take creative action.
  • Ring the changes: use something different every year.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.