Building Customer Loyalty, The Easy Way!

Your customers and their needs
should always be at the center of
everything you do

What's better than earning someone's business? Why earning someone's loyalty of course! The ultimate sign that your business or product is successful is having lots of repeat business and word of mouth advertising from your customers. So how do you go from wanting it to having it?

Be the Best

Don't just say your the best, actually do it!

The first step is an easy one. Make your product or service the best it can be. Regardless  of price, if people don't like what your selling, it'll be hard to convince them to buy it again. Obviously do this within a workable model, (don't make toothpaste that costs $100 a tube, Duh!) but, whatever you can do to make your product the best do it. Don't cut corners!

Focus on the Customer & Hire Personality

Make it your number one priority to be the leader in customer service and not just when problems arise. Make your mark from the moment a potential customer contacts your business; whether online, over the phone, or in person, ensure they feel valued and express a willingness to met all their requests while creating a positive environment. 

The Old Saying, "Happy Employees, Make Happy Customers"
 or something like that

Be caring and willing to go the extra mile. It might sound  cliche, but we all know MOST businesses do NOT do this anymore. We all experience it everyday. So make your business stands out by setting the standard. With that said, hire your employees carefully. According to Jane Judd, Senior Manager of Customer Loyalty at Zappos.com, "You can train someone to answer calls, but you can’t train someone to be positive and happy. Hire the right people and the rest should fall into place."

Say Thanks

Everyone likes to feel appreciated!

Sending thank you cards is an important part of keeping your customers loyal. Depending on the type of business, a simple thanks for your order email might suffice. For some business, you might want to send a gift bag and a handwritten note. Figure out what is right for your business and also what is financially feasible. 

Create a Customer Loyalty Program

No matter what industry your in, loyalty programs work.
If for no other reason than it makes your customers FEEL valued

People like to feel like a part of something. So make a loyal customer rewards program, these work in many more settings than just your local sandwich shop. Offer your customers 10% off their next order just for being a loyal customer. If your a lawyer, maybe for new cases from old clients, you waive certain fees. Get creative if your in a service industry. In the long run, these little discounts shouldn't hurt your bottom line and they make your customers feel appreciated and part of the "in" crowd. People really do appreciate a simple gesture of gratitude. So give them one, it's easy!

Remember Important Dates

Ok, so your clients won't be as mad
as your wife for forgetting, but it is important
to extend a professional relationship
beyond business meetings

Ok, so its not realistic for most businesses to send every customer or client a birthday card. But the clients who have been with you the longest, or the largest accounts, do just a little more for you. So, make them feel special because, well, they are! The large accounts help you keep your doors open and clients who have been with you for a long time are usually your best recruiters! They obviously like you and your service so they are likely to send their friends your way! Send a holiday car
.d out to as many clients as you can, but remember personal events (birthdays, anniversaries, birth of children, etc . . .) help you stand alone at the top. 

Don't Hide Your Customer Service

Don't hide from customer interaction,
Embrace it in all its forms!

Nowadays, the business world has a generally poor reputation for customer service. On most websites the customer support line is hidden in the corner of a 'contact us' page that you can only get to via small print at the bottom of the site. Sure the sales number is in bold letters, but nothing about help and service. Don't hide your service! Make it a proud selling point. People like to know there is someone they can talk to about their problems who is knowledgable, but with that said, make sure your customer service staff is trained and selected to deliver!

Regardless of your product, service, industry, or business size, creating a loyal customer base is the foundation for the growth of your business, so take these steps to make your customers keep coming back to you!

Interested in more information on Synergy and how we can help your business? Give us a call today at 714-824-3780 and speak with one of our friendly, knowledgable Sales Representatives who can answer all your questions.

Interested in Reading More from Synergy? Sign Up For Our Newsletter By Clicking Here

By: Will Pearlman

Thank Your Customers, and They'll Thank You With Their Business!

Synergy Says: 
July 2012
________________________________________________________

Thank Your Customers, and They'll Thank You With Their Business!

Nowadays, people underestimate the value of a good thank you. Many of us might even be thrown off guard when someone does say thanks. However, no where is expressing appreciation more important than in business.

Saying Thanks is Important,
No Matter How Big or Small!

When someone elects to use your business, it is their way of saying thanks for being exactly what I am looking for. So don't shy away from thanking them in return.

If you accept the general principal that roughly 80% of yours business comes from 20% of your customers, then you know who you should be thanking. The large accounts help you keep your doors open and clients who have been with you for a long time are usually your best recruiters! They obviously like you and your service so they are likely to send their friends your way!

People Remember that You Remembered,
So Try to Remember!

Send a holiday card out to as many clients as you can, but remember that personal events (birthdays, anniversaries, birth of children, etc . . .) help you stand alone at the top. Of course every customer is valuable and deserves to be shown gratitude, but financially, it doesn't make sense to send personalized gifts to everyone. A simple thank you card will suffice for most clients. But, for bigger clients, try to get something they would enjoy; tickets to a sporting event, a gift bag, anything. If your unsure, don't worry, people always like free stuff.  

By expressing your appreciation to your customers, you will remain on their minds and they will continue to expand their business with you and share your company with their friends. Thanking your customers helps increase your word of mouth advertising, and even in todays digital age, word of mouth advertising still cannot be beat. 

Synergy can help you thank your clients with personalized thank you cards and interactive solutions for all your marketing needs! Get a FREE Quote or Call Us Today at 714-824-3780!

Interested in Reading More from Synergy? Sign Up For Our Newsletter By Clicking Here

By: Will Pearlman

The Marketing Superhero Says!

Advice for the Every-Marketer

7/16/2012

Combining Print and Social Media Marketing: Augmented Reality and Digital Watermarks

Modern Marketing has shifted to weighing heavily on social media and the internet. In part, because it is cheap and it can be effective, sometimes. As the marketplace dynamically changes on a weekly basis with the latest app, finding the latest ways to integrate your online and traditional marketing are the key to business success. Here are some of the latest ways using Augmented Reality and Digital Watermarks!

Aurasma

One of the coolest current technologies out there is an app called Aurasma. This app uses whats called, Augmented Reality Actions or Auras to display videos on a piece of mail through the app on your phone. Which video plays can even be coded by several criteria.

Aurasma Demo:

The Pros:
This type of technology is very cool and highly engaging. Aurasma is an app they would have to download for this to work so including this in an ad where you say something like, "watch this postcard come to life using Aurasma from the App store" could intrigue someone into checking your ad out, just out of curiousity, even if the offer doesn't catch their eye.


The Cons:
The one MAJOR con is that this technology is not widespread yet. Most people won't even pick up on the idea that the postcard can turn into a video through their smart phone. You definitely would have to explain how to use the feature on your advertisement. I listed this as a pro as well, but that depends on your demographic. If you are marketing to a tech-savy group, then this would be a great way to engage them. However, for the average person, this might be a little too advanced at least at the moment. Moreover, effective video content is not always the cheapest or easiest thing to produce, especially for small and local businesses.

Layar

Another great technology, especially for those who offer a variety of products, is called Layar. Layar allows you to add digital links and information on your phone when holding it over the mail piece. It operates in a similar manner to Aurasma using augmented reality.

Layar Demo:

The Pros: This is extremely valuable to anyone who would use a catalog. This would allow your customers to flip through a catalog and when they like a product, they can simply hold their phone over the catalog and place an order or find out more information. Allowing your customers to have the tangible catalog with the ease of digital media will make their experience interactive and more enjoyable. Layar also works well with regular mail pieces as well, allowing you to add digital content to any mailer.


The Cons: Similar to Aurasma, Layar is still new technology that most people are unfamiliar with. However, this app is much simpler to use and I would expect it to catch on much quicker than Aurasma.

Digimarc

The last app I'll talk about for now is Digimarc. Digimarc is similar to Layar in that it is a way to place digital media on a printed mailer. However Digimarc goes a little further by creating a watermark. Unlike layar, where the content is place above the mailer, Digimarc places it in the mailer. The app acts almost like a secret decorder ring from those sugary cereals we ate as kids.

Digimarc Demo:

The Pros: Digimarc is a good tool to catch people's attention on an ad: "Use the Digimarc app to decode a secret offer in this mailer!" It is also relatively easy to use and actually integrated into Pinterest. Digital watermarks are the future, because they do not require any visible mark, that means no QR code!


The Cons: Digimarc is a little more complicated to use and everything must be printed on the image. However, with digital watermarks, be careful if you make a "secret offer" you are not isolating those customers without smart phones or those who just don't use the app. Also, digital watermarks aren't quite as impressive or advanced as augmented reality, but it is currently more widely used.

Interested in more information on Synergy and how we can help your business grow? Give us a call today at 714-824-3780 and speak with one of our friendly and knowledgable Sales Representatives who can answer all your questions.

Interested in Reading More from Synergy? Sign Up For Our Newsletter By Clicking Here

By: Will Pearlman

The USPS is Expanding use for Political Ads!

The U.S. Postal Service is expanding the use of Tag 57 to include political message mailings from Political Action Committees (PACs), Super-PACs, or other organizations engaging in issue advocacy or voter mobilization. We want to ensure that this volume receives visibility within the U.S. Postal Service mail stream. 

Expanded use of Tag 57

Tag 57 can be used for any political campaign mailing by a registered political candidate, campaign committee, and committee of a political party, or political message mailing by a Political Action Committee (PAC), Super-PACs, or other organizations engaging in issue advocacy or voter mobilization.

Tag 57 is a red container tag designed to provide visibility to political mail while it’s in the mailstream.

Political Campaign Mail is any piece mailed for political campaign purposes by a political candidate, a campaign committee, or a committee of a political party to promote political candidates, referendums, political campaigns or political message mailing by a Political Action Committee (PAC), Super-PACs, or other organizations engaging in issue advocacy or voter mobilization.

Official Election Mail is any mailpiece created by an authorized voting registration official that is mailed to or from a citizen of the United States for the purpose of participating in the voting process. It includes:

• Mail-in ballots            

• Ballot materials

• Voter registration cards

• Absentee applications                                                             

• Polling place notifications.

Election mail does not include political campaign mail.

Save 2% off your postage from the USPS in July and August!

Bringing 2% off postage,
Now that's good news!

The Summer is a great time of the year to send out a direct mail campaign. People are out and about and looking for exciting businesses and sales that meet their wants and needs. Right now the United States Postal Service is offering a discount on your direct mail postage from July 1, 2012 until August 31st, 2012. When you send a direct mail campaign with a QR code, you'll receive 2% off the cost of postage!

How It Works

There are 2 requirements in order to get the discount. The first requirement is that you must have a QR code on your mailer that takes you to a mobile optimized site. However, any marketing campaign using QR codes is worthless unless your site is mobile optimized, since most people don't scan QR codes on their desktop computers. So the requirement makes sense.

A QR code (like this one)
is all you really need for the discount!

The second requirement is an option. You can either have your QR take you to an "e-commerce" site as it is called, or you just need a personalized landing page. Now for those of us who aren't the most tech savvy, this might seem like a lot of work to get 2% off postage. However, using a personalized and mobile optimized landing page in your marketing campaign is extremely beneficial and will increase your return on investment and conversion rate from your direct marketing campaign. Not to mention, it'll make your company look pretty cool. To learn more about personalized landing pages and the benefits and analytics involved, check this out!

The other option is to have your QR code take someone to an "e-commerce" site, where they can make a direct purchase from your company or donation to your organization. For example, if you send a catalog, your QR code must take someone to a site where they can directly purchase an item from your catalog, not just your company webpage.

It's that easy, so what are you waiting for? Call Synergy and Let Us Save You 2% on Postage and Increase Your Sales This Summer!

Get 2% off postage on your next direct mail campaign

Contact Synergy at (877) 466-0635 or get a FREE quote online!

By: Will Pearlman