Can you get that second order?
hen a customer
visits you for the first time, it’s usually a test to see
if you can deliver on your promise. Either that or they just
want to cash in on your offer. Anyway you look at it, the first
sale represents only a fraction of their full buying potential.
The trick is to turn the first visit into a second one because
you really don’t have a customer until the newcomer
returns.
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Several years ago I asked members of the
Golomb Group for their ideas on getting the second order.
Cindy, a cleaner from Ohio, said she used
a hand-written letter to follow up with each new customer. In
it, she included a “25 percent off” coupon, a care
label flyer and her business card. In addition, she put the
customer’s name on each coupon in order to track the
responses. At the time, she was getting a 14 percent return.
After a minor computer upgrade, she was
able to do a monthly printout of customers who had not been in
for 30, 60 and 90 days. With this information she was able to
contact each of them either by phone or mail. That was the job
she assigned to herself and although it required a lot of
effort, the payoff was worth it. She not only discovered what
was important to these one-time visitors, but she also learned
a great deal about her competitors, as well. One way to beat
the competition is to get inside their camp and learn their
secrets.
Darcy Moen, then owner of Mobi Cleaners in
Regina, Saskatchewan, was literally loaded with ideas…
more than I can chronicle in this short article, but
here’s one I’ll share with you.
He used what he called the “white
lie.” It’s a variation of the “look what I
found in your pocket” thing, but with an added twist that
set him apart from a lot of cleaners.
Darcy printed up small notes on his laser
printer and attached them to new customer orders. The note
said, “I found a dollar in your pocket. I’ve put a
one-dollar credit on your customer record in our computer
system. It will automatically be deducted from the amount of
your next cleaning order. I hope this is okay with you. If not,
call Darcy at 789-8989 and we’ll work something else
out.”
He gambled on the fact that most people
wouldn’t bother to come in and demand a dollar out of the
cash drawer and that the dollar credit would spur a second
visit. Surprisingly, many first-timers came back for the
credit. Those who failed to return were contacted personally by
Darcy to let them know that they forgot to get their credit.
I first met Terry Ormsby at a task force
meeting in Buffalo, NY. In my mind, he was one of the smartest
cleaners in the business. He was also one of the most giving
and selfless. He would share his best ideas with you without a
second thought. Terry owned a number of plants in Texas and
before he passed away a few years ago, he shared his ideas for
getting the second order with me.
Computers at the main plant tracked all
new traffic for his stores. One staff member was assigned the
task of customer retrieval. For starters, anybody who had not
been in for 90 days was considered a new customer. The day
after their first visit, each new customer was mailed a glossy
“thank you” card with a note of appreciation plus a
$10 gift certificate to spend any way they wished on their next
visit.
With a 32 percent response rate, Terry
rated the system a success. Going a step further, however,
Terry started a program to get back any big spenders who had
dropped off his radar screen. For him, a big spender was
someone who spent a certain dollar amount in a three-month
period.
If a big spender hadn’t made a visit
in 40 days, the computer would print their name, address and
phone number. A list of these big spenders was compiled every
Monday and sent to each plant manager on Tuesday. The manager
had until Thursday to make personal contact with the customer
and find out why they stopped visiting and then… get
this… the manager was given full authority to do whatever
it took to get the customer back again.
For example, a customer claimed one of the
stores had lost a pair of suit pants. Apparently nothing was
done about it and the customer quit. To solve the problem, the
store manager instructed the customer to buy a new suit as well
as a new shirt and tie to go with the outfit and bring the bill
to the store. He did so and was reimbursed for the whole thing,
right on the spot. The total cost was about $600.
Was Terry nuts?
Hardly. According to the records, the
customer regularly spent $700 every three months. That’s
about $2,800 a year. It’s likely they got him back for
life but even if he stayed only five years, he would
potentially bring in another $14,000 in business.
Terry claimed this program brought back
his big spenders at a 47 percent rate.
Out of curiosity, I asked Terry what his
policy was when it came to paying claims and he said:
“We pay 100 percent of all claims
and we pay them… immediately.”
I asked him what was the wildest claim he
ever paid. He just chuckled because there were so many, but one
came to mind. A woman claimed her order had been lost and
wanted reimbursement for the clothes. There was no argument.
She wanted money and the cleaner promptly wrote her a check for
the full amount of her claim.
The store manager, posing as Mrs.
“X,” began calling other cleaners in the area.
Guess what? They found the order and called the woman in to
pick it up. When the customer saw the competitor’s
invoice attached to the order, she was embarrassed. Terry had
no hard feelings, though. The woman returned the money and
remained a regular customer.
What are you doing to get the second
order? Anything special? Remember, the first order is usually a
test of what you can deliver. If the experience one gets when
they visit your store can be described as routine, you may have
a revolving door when it comes to first-time visitors. Instead,
strive to do something special. Be creative. Hopefully, one of
these cleaners has helped inspire you to deliver more and
follow up better.
Bill Bishop, an industry consultant with
the Golomb Group for 14 years, is now president of Mak
Marketing, Inc. He can be reached at 630-456-4195 or by e-mail
at bish8@comcast.net
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