Do three favors this month
Within the next 30 days, contact three of your favorite customers or clients (depending on what term you use to label these people) and present them with something they can use, i.e. an idea; a suggestion; a special offer; a hot tip; a sincere compliment; a congratulatory note; an invitation to coffee, lunch, dinner, etc. Use your imagination because as their vendor (and, hopefully, confidant) you are in a unique position to “deliver the goods for them.”
Around our Phoenix-based marketing, advertising and public relations agency, we have a little saying. Pause and put on your thinking cap, it will come to you. If you really set your mind to the task suggested above, the right answers surely will come to you. The only problem you will have is trying to limit it to just three.
Whether you are a marketing agency in Arizona, a retailer in California, a financial services company in New Jersey or a manufacturer in Illinois, there are a number of reasons that making such an offer to your patrons is a good idea, and just about all of them fall into the category – It’s just good business. To be a bit more specific in elaborating the list above, here are but a few thoughts. It will:
- Remind them you are still “alive,” viable and interested in them.
- Help them in an unsolicited and refreshingly unexpected way.
- Offer them something in the way of a useful idea.
- Suggest something they may not have been considering but which will be of assistance in some way.
- Offer a something special that is not readily available to others, either through you or elsewhere.
- Alert them to a piece of information of which they may not be aware, but which can impact their business.
- Give them what is sure to be some appreciated kudos for something they have recently accomplished (if doing so is appropriate).
- Send a congratulatory message if they’ve done something “big.” This could be accompanied by flowers, a plant for their office or, eve, a mention in your newsletter.
- Take them out to “break the bread,” providing you both with the opportunity to, perhaps, become reacquainted and, at the very least, share a pleasant breather.
In this fast-moving, increasingly challenging environment, advertisers and public relations pros, as well as others in business development roles, have found that opportunities to reach out in some depth to those with whom we may have, even, regular contact are becoming more rare – and (perhaps for this reason) ever more important.
Looking at its more mercenary aspects leads ones to quickly conclude that: a) a good customer is hard to find and harder to keep and b) inattention may send the wrong message to clients who are, doubtless, being aggressively pursued by your competitors c) as humans, we all appreciate and are generally responsive to a little TLC.
How to do it
- Make a list of your most valuable clients
- If necessary, research their most recent accomplishments (talking to a colleague may be the best way)
- Review their recent transaction record with your company
- Select the subjects of your project
- Act!
The results this little 30-day sampler campaign yields will induce you to form a habit of recognizing those most valuable people – your clients. Like when the mechanic warns when urging motorists to consider preventive maintenance, “Pay me now or pay me later,” this writer advises, pay attention to your clients now, or you may pay the price later.
Marketing Partners of Arizona (MPA) was founded in 1976 by Allan Starr, and serves a local, regional and national clientele with diverse services including strategic marketing, advertising, public relations, sponsorship procurement, e-mail marketing, Website optimization and other online initiatives. Starr is former governor of the Southwest District of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), two-term president of The Arizona Small Business Assn. and is serving a sixth term on the board of directors of The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.
# # #
Do three favors this month
By Allan Starr, President/CEO Marketing Partners of Arizona
Within the next 30 days, contact three of your favorite customers or clients (depending on what term you use to label these people) and present them with something they can use, i.e. an idea; a suggestion; a special offer; a hot tip; a sincere compliment; a congratulatory note; an invitation to coffee, lunch, dinner, etc. Use your imagination because as their vendor (and, hopefully, confidant) you are in a unique position to “deliver the goods for them.”
Around our Phoenix-based marketing, advertising and public relations agency, we have a little saying. Pause and put on your thinking cap, it will come to you. If you really set your mind to the task suggested above, the right answers surely will come to you. The only problem you will have is trying to limit it to just three.
Whether you are a marketing agency in Arizona, a retailer in California, a financial services company in New Jersey or a manufacturer in Illinois, there are a number of reasons that making such an offer to your patrons is a good idea, and just about all of them fall into the category – It’s just good business. To be a bit more specific in elaborating the list above, here are but a few thoughts. It will:
- Remind them you are still “alive,” viable and interested in them.
- Help them in an unsolicited and refreshingly unexpected way.
- Offer them something in the way of a useful idea.
- Suggest something they may not have been considering but which will be of assistance in some way.
- Offer a something special that is not readily available to others, either through you or elsewhere.
- Alert them to a piece of information of which they may not be aware, but which can impact their business.
- Give them what is sure to be some appreciated kudos for something they have recently accomplished (if doing so is appropriate).
- Send a congratulatory message if they’ve done something “big.” This could be accompanied by flowers, a plant for their office or, eve, a mention in your newsletter.
- Take them out to “break the bread,” providing you both with the opportunity to, perhaps, become reacquainted and, at the very least, share a pleasant breather.
In this fast-moving, increasingly challenging environment, advertisers and public relations pros, as well as others in business development roles, have found that opportunities to reach out in some depth to those with whom we may have, even, regular contact are becoming more rare – and (perhaps for this reason) ever more important.
Looking at its more mercenary aspects leads ones to quickly conclude that: a) a good customer is hard to find and harder to keep and b) inattention may send the wrong message to clients who are, doubtless, being aggressively pursued by your competitors c) as humans, we all appreciate and are generally responsive to a little TLC.
How to do it
- Make a list of your most valuable clients
- If necessary, research their most recent accomplishments (talking to a colleague may be the best way)
- Review their recent transaction record with your company
- Select the subjects of your project
- Act!
The results this little 30-day sampler campaign yields will induce you to form a habit of recognizing those most valuable people – your clients. Like when the mechanic warns when urging motorists to consider preventive maintenance, “Pay me now or pay me later,” this writer advises, pay attention to your clients now, or you may pay the price later.
Marketing Partners of Arizona (MPA) was founded in 1976 by Allan Starr, and serves a local, regional and national clientele with diverse services including strategic marketing, advertising, public relations, sponsorship procurement, e-mail marketing, Website optimization and other online initiatives. Starr is former governor of the Southwest District of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), two-term president of The Arizona Small Business Assn. and is serving a sixth term on the board of directors of The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.
# # #
Do three favors this month
By Allan Starr, President/CEO Marketing Partners of Arizona
Within the next 30 days, contact three of your favorite customers or clients (depending on what term you use to label these people) and present them with something they can use, i.e. an idea; a suggestion; a special offer; a hot tip; a sincere compliment; a congratulatory note; an invitation to coffee, lunch, dinner, etc. Use your imagination because as their vendor (and, hopefully, confidant) you are in a unique position to “deliver the goods for them.”
Around our Phoenix-based marketing, advertising and public relations agency, we have a little saying. Pause and put on your thinking cap, it will come to you. If you really set your mind to the task suggested above, the right answers surely will come to you. The only problem you will have is trying to limit it to just three.
Whether you are a marketing agency in Arizona, a retailer in California, a financial services company in New Jersey or a manufacturer in Illinois, there are a number of reasons that making such an offer to your patrons is a good idea, and just about all of them fall into the category – It’s just good business. To be a bit more specific in elaborating the list above, here are but a few thoughts. It will:
- Remind them you are still “alive,” viable and interested in them.
- Help them in an unsolicited and refreshingly unexpected way.
- Offer them something in the way of a useful idea.
- Suggest something they may not have been considering but which will be of assistance in some way.
- Offer a something special that is not readily available to others, either through you or elsewhere.
- Alert them to a piece of information of which they may not be aware, but which can impact their business.
- Give them what is sure to be some appreciated kudos for something they have recently accomplished (if doing so is appropriate).
- Send a congratulatory message if they’ve done something “big.” This could be accompanied by flowers, a plant for their office or, eve, a mention in your newsletter.
- Take them out to “break the bread,” providing you both with the opportunity to, perhaps, become reacquainted and, at the very least, share a pleasant breather.
In this fast-moving, increasingly challenging environment, advertisers and public relations pros, as well as others in business development roles, have found that opportunities to reach out in some depth to those with whom we may have, even, regular contact are becoming more rare – and (perhaps for this reason) ever more important.
Looking at its more mercenary aspects leads ones to quickly conclude that: a) a good customer is hard to find and harder to keep and b) inattention may send the wrong message to clients who are, doubtless, being aggressively pursued by your competitors c) as humans, we all appreciate and are generally responsive to a little TLC.
How to do it
- Make a list of your most valuable clients
- If necessary, research their most recent accomplishments (talking to a colleague may be the best way)
- Review their recent transaction record with your company
- Select the subjects of your project
- Act!
The results this little 30-day sampler campaign yields will induce you to form a habit of recognizing those most valuable people – your clients. Like when the mechanic warns when urging motorists to consider preventive maintenance, “Pay me now or pay me later,” this writer advises, pay attention to your clients now, or you may pay the price later.
Marketing Partners of Arizona (MPA) was founded in 1976 by Allan Starr, and serves a local, regional and national clientele with diverse services including strategic marketing, advertising, public relations, sponsorship procurement, e-mail marketing, Website optimization and other online initiatives. Starr is former governor of the Southwest District of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), two-term president of The Arizona Small Business Assn. and is serving a sixth term on the board of directors of The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.
# # #
