Tip #434 - Turn Your Holiday Traffic Into Year Round Cash
Dear Tip of the Weeker,
If you live almost anywhere in the world, the holiday season is upon you and it’s a wonderful time to be a retailer.
Which brings us to this week’s Tip about how to turn all of your holiday foot traffic into year round cash…
One of the secrets to long term retail success is to have a big (huge is even better) customer database and to send your “list” messages throughout the year that create a steady stream of traffic - and cash!
Without a strong list you can only pay for traffic (advertising) or hope the customers walk through your door. And hope is not a good marketing strategy…
The single best time of year to build your customer list is when you have the most customers in your store – which, for many retailers, is during the holidays.
Yes, it’s a royal pain in the backside to collect contact info with a full store and a line at the register, BUT IT’S WORTH THE EFFORT!
The best thing is to have your employees ask for and enter the customer info directly into your POS during the sale. But if that won't work there are several other ways to do it...
- Hire extra help for your busiest days. These people don’t have to be trained salespeople, they just need to be friendly, outgoing and willing help your customers sign up.
- Have a small stand next to the counter with a laptop computer so customers can sign up on your website. (You do have newsletter sign up form on your website, don't you?)
- Try the old-fashioned (but very effective) clipboard with a sign up sheet right on the counter.
- After your customers have checked out, give them a form, and handy place to fill it out and drop it off.
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There are lots of ways to collect e-mail addresses. In this video Bob made for our friends at SnapRetail, you’ll learn several, including our favorite, the “6 Box Frequent Buyer Program.” |
http://www.snapretail.com/retailer/library-videos.asp?VideoID=71
I know that when your store is crazy busy and packed with demanding customers, it may seem inconvenient to gather names and contact information. But, the size of your list has a direct impact on your ability to create cash throughout the entire year.
Our friend Judy Fenton of Mill Creek Sewing and Fabric Center said it best when she said “Building my list is like printing cash.”
Don’t miss this opportunity to build your list by hundreds, possibly thousands, of names.
