Make more money with the customers you have

Wow, I can't believe my last post has been since January. Sorry, folks. It's been hectic here. Months ago, I got a button in my BNI group that said, "I Refuse to Participate in a Recession". I've held true to that statement.

Business has been doing really well lately. I know a lot of people that are pulling themselves out of the trenches and are starting to climb up.

So, how are we to make it in this economy?

My personal predicition is we will see record fortunes made over the next 5-10 years. I have many ideas and theories about this. One example; alternative energy. Think of all the people that invested stocks with Exxon and Texaco back in the day. They say history repeats itself. So, if we know that history will repeat itself to a degree, we can control the outcome. Or, at least, where we will be when that does happen.

Okay, so let me get right to the point here.

I don't care what kind of business you are in. If you do anything where you have customers/ clients there IS a way to retain those clients and have them refer other clients to you.

In an economy where we see many large corporations folding, it's the "Mom & Pop" mentalities that are again resurfacing. Meaning; if you treat your customers well, and connect with them on a personal level, they will continue to spend money with you.

People still have money to spend. They just need a reason to spend it. To spend it wisely and with you.

This "economic downpour" is truly a good thing. It helps implement values into our homes so people don't spend so foolishly. Sadly, recent surveys indicated households aged between 25-40 have less than $500 in savings. We needed a wake up call! Plus, this forces companies to produce a good product or service. GM is the perfect example of producing an inferior product. Foreign makers come in, produce a better vehicle, better crash ratings, fuel savings and at a lower price. Now GM is crying to get bailed out of the mess they put themselves in. Truly, I don't think they should get a dime. Why? Because they're a large corporation? Pfftt.

How do we get people to spend the money with you? How do we connect on that personal level?

Like I said, I don't care what it is you do.

Are you a hairstylist? Photographer? Jewelry Maker? Dog Trainer? Baker? Pampered Chef Consultant? Insurance Agent? Stock Broker? Mortgage Banker? Attorney? (Okay, that was fun....really tired of naming things now)

It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. You know if you treat your clients well and you know if your service or product is worthy of purchase. If it's not or if you're a pompous ass, don't bother attempting to retain business with anyone. Go hang yourself somewhere and let those that wish to make a difference in people's lives do so. (Disclaimer: if anyone does this, I'm not responsible for their stupidity.)

Stop wasting your money on advertising. After the Spring I will no longer have a website. It won't affect me one bit! In fact, it will help. (That however is another topic related to photographers only, one which I may address later.) For now, let's try to stick to the topic.

Stop doing what everyone else is doing. Piss on sending out a coupon, a flyer a this or a that. None of that crap is personal! None of that connects to your client and says, hey...let's do business. It is junk that gets tossed about with all the others.

STAND OUT. Your service does, so why shouldn't any correspondence you provide blend in?

For this example, let's say you are the customer and I am...your mechanic.

You bring your car to me for repairs. You are impressed with the service and value you've received at my repair facility.
Throughout the year I've sent you a few coupons for tires or brakes. Yet, every time you got them in the mail, you didn't need any of those things.
I sent a 15% off any service, but your car was running fine.


Okay, how many people are you going to tell that I am your mechanic? Sure, if someone asked you right after you left my shop you may have mentioned my name. Did I do anything wrong or bad? No. I did a great job.

After 3,4,5 or 6 months am I going to be on your mind? Mmmm...probably not.

So, how do we change this? While we don't want this guy to go to the mechanic for frivilous things by any means, we do want his business and we really want him to tell others about us!

Let's start from the day one again. You go to the mechanic. Upon filling out the information on your vehicle you are asked for some important dates. Such as your anniversary, your kids ages and birthdates as well as yours and your spouses' birthdates.

You might even ask why. We'll tell you. We like to send our preferred customers a card on their special day. It's voluntary but we enjoy doing it. You provide the information.

We do a great job on your car and you're on your way. After a few days you don't even recall giving the information, or maybe you do. Unimportant.

Three months later it's your son's 8th birthday. He gets a really nice Birthday card in the mail from XX Auto repair. Wow. Impressive. Has your mechanic ever sent your son a birthday card before?

Okay, two months after that, your daughter gets one.

The next month you and your spouse get a Happy Anniversary card.

Next week, it's YOUR birthday and YOU get a card!

Three months later your lovely spouse gets a birthday card.

Don't forget about the traditional holidays mixed in there too.


Now, each greeting card had on there XX Auto Repair, 123 Anywhere St...blah blah...it was YOUR COMPANY'S INFORMATION!

They took this card and passed it around to everyone at work, at the baseball field, the soccer field, dance recitals, anywhere they went to see friends, co-workers....PEOPLE...they've taken this card.

Why? Because no other business is sending them a greeting card! Especially not a nice one and definitely not to their entire family (including the dog!).

You are more than their mechanic now. You are a part of their lives. Part of their family. You have connected.

Put yourself for a moment in that position and imagine if your mechanic did that to you. Would you hesitate going back to XX Auto repair? Not for a second. Would you not show this card off they sent to you? Absolutely you would!

Here's what I'm going to do: for those of you that run a company of any kind, that work with customers of any sort, I am going to let you try this out absolutely free! Send anyone you choose; family, friends, customers, whoever (2) greeting cards ON ME!

Why? So you can get in there and see what is available and learn the system.

There is no obligation, I simply want you to send 2 free cards. Go to: www.sendoutcards.com/boone

If you have any questions you can contact me: pbandjphotography@gmail.com I will be glad to assist you in any way possible that I can.