Customers Who Got Two “Free Punches” On Their Loyalty Card Actually Came Back More Often.
Give Your Customers A Super Special, “Personalized” Perk
And Watch Their Excitement, Loyalty, And Profitability Soar.
Written by Rich Harshaw.
The Psychology Of The “Wink, Wink” Deal: Don’t be freaked out by the terms, but something called “Endowed Progress” and “Artificial Enhancement” could mean improved customer loyalty and marketing results for contractors.
Researchers from the Wharton School of Business discovered that they could increase a customer’s participation in frequency programs by simply giving them a head start.
Case in point: A car wash required eight purchases and punches on a card to earn a free car wash. They discovered that when they gave a customer a card with two out of ten required punches already “pre-punched,” that thirty-four percent would persist with the program and complete the additional required eight punches. Contrast that to those who were given a card that only required eight punches in the first place—the same number as required on the other card—but with ZERO freebies. The final redemption rate plummeted to a mere nineteen percent.
Holy mackerel!
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A Chain Is Only As Strong As The Weakest Link… Which Just Might Be Your Receptionist.
Your Receptionist Has A Lot More To Do With Your Success
(Or Lack Thereof) Than You Might Ever Imagine…
Written by Rich Harshaw.
Victory goes to the one with superior forces at the point of contact. – Chinese Proverb
Remodeling companies spend a huge amount of money on advertising and marketing. And beautiful home improvement websites. And SEO. And jobsite signs… and colorfully wrapped trucks and trailers. And a hundred other expensive, well-orchestrated things designed to get the phone to ring.
On top of that they also spend a veritable fortune recruiting great salespeople; then paying their salaries, commissions, and expenses… and training them to become closing machines.
But in the middle of those two things—marketing and sales—there’s a little thing called “THE PHONE CALL.” And in my vast experience working with both interior and exterior remodeling companies, I see a boatload of cash falling through the cracks here.
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It’s Pioneer Day! (Really!) Do You Have The Courage To Put Your Shoulder To The Wheel?
Here’s A Little Challenge For You. Don’t Worry, You Can Do It!
Written by Rich Harshaw.
Note: About once a month, Monopolize Your Marketplace takes a break from contractor marketing advice and focuses on personal development topics. We call this ongoing series “Personal Edge.”
What a difference a day can make. Just 24 hours.
Read the two journal entries below from an 1856 Mormon handcart pioneer and you’ll see what I mean:
“Suffice it to say that all the disgusting scenes which the reader might imagine would certainly not equal the terrible reality. It was enough to make the heavens weep. The recollection of it unmans me even now.”
-John Chislett, Monday, October 20, 1856
“Shouts of joy rent the air; strong men wept till tears ran freely down their furrowed and sun-burnt cheeks, and little children partook of the joy which some of them hardly understood, and fairly danced around with gladness.”
-John Chislett, Tuesday, October 21, 1856
You may not know this, but every year people of the Mormon faith celebrate “Pioneer Day” on July 24th; it’s a time to commemorate Brigham Young’s first arrival into the Salt Lake valley on July 24, 1847, and to honor the commitment, courage, and sacrifice of all the early pioneers who followed him there. In Utah, it’s an official state holiday; Mormons in other parts of the world don’t get the day off, but still make an effort to remember and celebrate their Mormon heritage.
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I Spent Over An Hour Reading Online Reviews To Make A $195 Decision To Buy A Lamp.
Add Online Reviews To Your Home Improvement Website… And Let People See
The Details Of What Your Customers Think Of You.
Written by Rich Harshaw.
Dead. Kaput. Lights out… literally.
My little desk lamp that had faithfully illuminated my workspace for a dozen years suddenly died on a cold December morning in 2009. There was no warning; no signs of faltering; no symptoms of old age. I just reached to click it on and nothing happened. I checked the plug. I changed the bulb. I jiggled it around—all to no avail. Suddenly, inexplicably, the lamp was dead.
As I searched Amazon.com for a replacement, I decided I wanted a better, more versatile model. I wanted to find a lamp that I could place at the back of my desk… but that was still big enough and long enough to reach up and over my secondary computer monitor to light the workspace to the left of my laptop.
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