MY LAST TWO COLUMNS covered why collecting customer information was so important, what you should collect and then ways in which you could encourage your customers to give their information to you. Now that you have your list, it’s time to communicate with them in a purposeful way that adds value. The best emails, text messages, direct mailers, thank-you cards are relevant to the recipient and timely. So how do you do that?
The first step is ensuring that your list is segmented, meaning that all your contacts are in the appropriate categories/lists. You can mark your customers with “tags” or custom fields inside your software (based on recommendations I covered previously — check out past columns here: petsplusmag.com/dagnolo).
Segmenting will allow you to send relevant information to customers. Wouldn’t it be better for a cat customer to get a cat-related email from your business instead of hearing about a dog mom event? If the cat customer hears only about dogs, they will stop opening your emails or paying attention to your marketing.
Segmenting takes effort on your part, but once you get a system down, it will become easy for you to send the right message to your customers.
Now that you have them segmented to send relevant information, it’s important to send consistent and timely communication.
Here are a bunch of reasons to communicate with your customers:
- Newsletter (monthly, weekly, bi-weekly)
- Welcome to “Business Name Family”/Story behind business
- New client/onboarding
- Reminders
- Promotions
- Re-engagement for customers you haven’t seen in a while
- Abandoned carts for online stores
- Milestone emails
- Special offers
- Surveys or other request
And here’s a list of things you could share in those communications:
- Celebrations
- Announcements
- Customer and team highlights
- New products and benefits of others
- Breaking news/recalls
- Vendor stories
- Your stories
- Events
- Frequently asked questions
- Do’s and Don’ts
So, now you’re building your list. You know why you should be communicating with customers and what to talk about. Now it’s about being consistent in your communication. Come up with a plan to communicate at least weekly with your customers — whether it’s to the whole group or targeted segments of your list.
Sending relevant info is key. The right message must reach the right people. The most important thing about your communication is to communicate with purpose. The purpose of your communication will allow you to ensure you’re driving important and interesting communication that still supports your business.