Transaction Buyers vs Relationship Buyers
December 7, 2007
By Editor – Are you looking for transaction buyers or relationship buyers?
Transaction buyers are interested only in price. They have no loyalty to you or your business. If they can find it cheaper down the street, they’re gone.
Relationship buyers, on the other hand, are looking for someone they can trust. They want friendly interactions and for you & your staff to remember their name, their likes and their dislikes.
If you’ll cultivate relationships with these types of buyers, they could continue to buy from you for a lifetime.
- Treat your buyers like gold and forget about price.
- Communicate regularly
- Give them incentives for staying with you over the long haul instead of handing out desperate discounts.
- Remember their birthday and thank them often.
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December 6, 2007
Before computers, I stunk at sending out my holiday cards. I had my little handwritten, dog-eared address book, but I rarely added much to it.
And updating it? Let’s see….where did I put that scrap paper that had my mother’s new address on it….
Life in the rolodex lane just didn’t work for me. Then along came computers and the internet. Over the years, I’ve been deluged with contact management options. When I started my direct sales business in 1999, it was most important for me to communicate by email. I had data everywhere. 10,000 records to be almost exact. At the time, I used cumbersome group mail and filtering software.
It was a long and arduous process, but I was determined to get this contact management thing mastered. People were precious to me and I didn’t want to lose anyone!
Over the years, I’ve probably tested over eighty contact management software solutions. I was really happy with only one but the problem was, though it was great at managing my email lists, it didn’t offer a printed solution.
The only thing I could do if I wanted to send a lot of cards or printed materials was to download the lists into Excel, do a mail merge and print labels.
How exciting was that? I spent all that time creating a beautiful mail piece, only to have to slap a generic label on it. With that level of personalization, I wondered if people would even take the time to read it.
After learning about digital print-on-demand, I made an appointment with a local printing company and took a tour. I was enamored by the concept, but I needed to find a way to capture this technology, not only for my own mailing list solution, but also for my clients.
Earlier this year, I found the answer. And this year, my holiday mailing list was up to speed and ready to go when it was time to send out cards.
Not only that, but my new system reminds me of everyone’s birthday and anniversary, so I can send personalized cards all year long. The best part is, I don’t have to write them myself – they only look like I do.
I even use this system in combination with my email newsletter program so that I can send out personalized emails.
Check it out: www.sendoutcards.com/ricci or call 512-879-9926
I know what works – and what doesn’t. I needed something quick, easy and cost effective. Maybe you do too.
Now you can stop licking envelopes and buying stamps. This might very well be the answer you’re looking for to strengthen both your personal and professional relationships. – Ricci
