Today I wanted to share with you an example of something I’ve talked about many times before.  You see, one of the most important parts of creating a killer marketing system is consistent communication with your target market.  If you’ve created a ‘farm’ or list of prospects, you should be contacting them as often as possible with some type of message and offer.

That’s not to say you want to bombard your list with mindless promotion and sales pitches.  However, you should be touching base with creative messages that stand out from the typical sales garbage that clogs up their mailbox and/or inbox. 

Now, a lot of times the hardest part is actually coming up with a reason to contact your prospects.  Again, you want to reach out to them, but you want to do it in a way that they enjoy and creates an anticipation to see what you’ll do next.

One of the ways to combat this is to use current events as the motivation to contact them.  Every day the headlines are FILLED with news stories about something or other you could use to create an interesting promotion or package around.

As an example, if you follow pro football at all you then you know that Bobby Petrino, the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, resigned just yesterday and within hours was hired as the head coach at the University of Arkansas. 

Now, that may not be news everywhere, but if you live in either Atlanta, GA or Fayetteville, AR, it’s a PERFECT opportunity to create a marketing message around.

Here’s how I’d capitalize on this opportunity.  If I were in ATL, I’d photocopy the picture of Petrino from the local paper and put it on the top of the sales letter with a headline that says, “Worried You’ll Be Left High and Dry in Your Darkest Hour?”

If I were in Fayetteville, I’d again photocopy a picture from the paper and slap it up top of the sales letter with a headline, “Worried Your New ‘White Knight’ Might Leave You High and Dry Too?”  Of course, you could also create a headline about how he could be the savior the team needs.  Either one could work.

I’d then go on to craft a short story related to either the immediate departure or arrival of Petrino.  Again, if you’re in ATL, you could talk about other shady LCO’s that make big promises but end up leaving you high and dry.  For the Arkansas folks, you could talk about how you’ll be the answer they’ve been searching for.

Ideally, you would then create a service package that you can relate to the story and present your prospects with an offer on the package. 

Again, you could do this with just about any story you find in the news.  It could be local, national, or even international.  It doesn’t have to be something huge, but again, be creative with it.

So, the next time you’re struggling to come up with something to say in your sales letter, open up the newspaper or jump on the internet.  Remember, your next promotion is just a headline away!

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Well, December is officially here. That means less than 4 weeks to go in 2007. Really not much time to finish out the year and get ready for the new one. But, there’s still plenty of time if you get started right now!

Over the next few weeks as the year winds down and as you get ready to perform your 2007 year end review, I’ll be giving you some ideas and suggestions for making the most of this critical process.

As you no doubt already know, your customers are your most valuable asset. You should treat them like gold, because at the end of the day, that’s what they could be worth to you.

However, I can guarantee you that at some point you’ll lose a customer or two along the way. Even though it should be your goal, it’s impossible to keep EVERY customer forever.

At the same time, knowing the reasons WHY your customers leave will go a long way towards helping you create processes and systems designed to keep your customers for as long as possible.

The first step in keeping customers is to know WHY they leave in the first place. Here is a list of the reasons why you might be losing customers:

• Unhappy with product or service
• Unhappy with price
• Complaints that go unaddressed
• Unhappy with new company policies
• Feel taken advantage of
• Better offer from competitors
• Changing life situations (making your product or service no longer necessary)
• Feel that you really could care less if you had their business or not

Now, there are several things you can do with some of these reasons and tomorrow I’ll share with you my suggestions for making it difficult for your customers to use these excuses.

In the meantime, give some thought to your own experiences. Why have your customers left? What could you have done differently to hold on to them?

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With Thanksgiving just days away, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of letting your customers know just how much they mean to your business.  In fact, it could be the MOST important element of any successful marketing plan.

I know I’ve talked a lot recently about the importance of developing a solid relationship with your customers, but it really can’t be stressed enough.  That being said, I’ve decided to list several different ways you can let your customers know just how important they are to your business.

• Send them a ‘stick’ letter after their first purchase – A stick letter is simply a letter, postcard, or other small ‘something’ letting them know you appreciate their business, you hope they were satisfied with the service, and the fact you look forward to continuing to serve them.

• Communicate with them EVERY month.  And an invoice DOESN’T count!  You’ve got to do something above and beyond what they would receive from any other LCO.  It could really be anything, but I highly recommend a monthly, hard copy newsletter you send via snail mail.

If you’re not sure where to start, I do offer a newsletter template each month you can easily customize for your business.  You can get more details here: 

• Call them periodically to check on them and their service.  You’ll solidify many relationships by simply taking the time to reach out to your customers to find out what they think.  And if you’re expecting them to reach out to you to let you know what they’re thinking, you’re crazy.

• Send them an unexpected greeting card.  Again, it’s the small, unexpected surprises that really build relationships and by sending a ‘Grandparents Day’ card (just an example) with a reason why the ‘holiday’ made you think of them would be a HUGE hit.

• Stop by a day or 2 after a service visit to review the work and get their feedback.  Like the phone call, it’ll really go a long ways towards demonstrating your commitment to providing exceptional service.

So, as Thanksgiving comes and goes this week, take a few minutes to think about some ways you could express your appreciation to your customers.

If you’re at a total loss, I’ll be adding some GREAT customer appreciation campaigns and tools this weekend.  And even though Thanksgiving won’t be coming around for another year, these are resources you could and SHOULD be using year round.

Anyway, have a great next few days and if you’ll be traveling ‘over the rive and through the woods,’ I hope you do it in safety.

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As much as I’d love to make some comment about how much fun I had watching football this past weekend, I didn’t, so I won’t. Let’s just say I’m about to the point of getting ready for basketball season.

Anyway, I wanted to drop a quick note to let you know I’ve got the Champion’s Circle ready to go.

Now I’d normally write up some fancy email trying to convince you to give it a try, and I may do that in a few days. But I’m a pretty straightforward guy and more than anything I want you to take a look at it cuz I know it can help you grow you business. Plus, if you get in now you’ll save a fortune over the life of your membership as a ‘Thanks’ for helping me get it fine-tuned.

You can get all the details about what’s included in the Champion’s Circle and sign-up right here:

http://www.lawncarechampionscircle.com

A few quick notes.

First, I decided NOT to offer the huge discount on the Silver level membership. I just decided it’s already a small price to pay for what you’ll get out of it, so there’s no introductory price with that one. The monthly price will be $19.95.

Second, the $29.95/mo price for the Platinum Level is NOT reflected on the sales page. You won’t see that price until you go to signup. Also, this price is GOOD FOR LIFE. That means you’ll only pay $29.95 for as long as you maintain your membership.

Third, there are only 25 memberships available at the $29.95 price before it’s gone forever. After the first 25 are gone I’ll start raising the price until eventually, the fee will be $97/mo. Even at that price I’d like to think it’ll still be a steal.

Fourth, the site is still in BETA, which means it’s not a completed product. There’s already quite a bit of information available, but I’ll be adding a lot more over the next few days. One of the reasons I’m offering such a HUGE initial discount is because I need your help getting things fine tuned before I turn lose a huge advertising campaign I’m planning near the first of the year.

As an initial member I’ll be relying on you for feedback and commentary on things. I’ll be looking for you help to get things ‘right’. So I’ll need your patience, understanding, and assistance for the next few weeks and maybe months.

http://www.lawncarechampionscircle.com

Anyway, go check out the sales page and I hope to see you in the Champion’s Circle!

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