There are examples of good marketers all around us. Some are in our industry, some are outside. Anytime you see an example of good marketing, I think you should take a minute or two to examine their success, and see if there is a way to turn their experience into something you can use in your own business.
Shaw's Auto Care, a little independent repair shop in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, has a nice little thing going. A Babcox colleage recently referred a friend to Shaw's for some minor automotive work. She needed a front exhaust pipe replaced. I don't even know if the invoice exceeded $250. But she received excellent service and came back to the office and reported her pleasure with the work she received.
Ok, end of story?
No.
Today, my colleage received in the mail, a $10 gift card for Wendy's (home of the old-fashioned hamburger). This amounts to maybe 4% of the total bill that Shaw was paid.
But what did Shaw receive in response to their 4% investment?
1 - 1 happy customer who told at least 1 other person about her experience.
2 - 1 happy long-term customer, who told at least 1 other person about the gift card
3 - 1 publisher who thought this was an inexpensive, but effective way to build customer loyalty.
In theory, if that 1 customer experience, combined with the $10 gift card, turns into one additional $250 sale......that's a 98% return on Shaw's investment. We should all be so market-savvy.
This experience reflects both excellent customer service and excellent marketing. Make your customer happy the first time with your service. Keep them coming back for more, by remembering their loyalty. How can you apply the same principles to your business to increase your market effectiveness?
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