• Dec 12

    As any business owner will tell you, the most important factor to consider in business is your customers. Although many companies spend a huge amount of money every year on marketing for new customers, the majority of a business’s income will be generated by repeat custom. Previous research has shown that it can cost as much as ten times more to gain new customers that it does to retain old customers.

    So how do you go about improving customer loyalty? Well, a great place to start is by rewarding them for their loyalty in the form of a loyalty program. The most common way for a business to entice customers into a loyalty program is to offer loyalty cards. A loyalty card is a card that can either carry a set discount for future purchases, or it could carry information on the customers previous purchases and an accumulation of loyalty points according to those purchases; the points could then be used to discount any future purchases.

    It is expected that you are now thinking that there could be great rewards, but also even bigger risks; and that is true, not all loyalty programs work and not all are implemented correctly, but get it right and you could be seeing a huge increase in profits from just a small percentage of customer retention. Be prepared to wait to see the benefits, though, as it is likely that the increase in profits that you are hoping to see will not be prevalent for 18 to 24 months after the introduction date.

    Coupled with the ability to retain customers, a loyalty program can ultimately help to improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. When a customer signs up to a company loyalty scheme, they typically fill out an application form asking for information on their names, ages, addresses, annual household incomes, annual or monthly expenditures on certain products, what products they like to buy, what they don’t like to buy and also feedback on your company’s current range of products or services. With this information you can create a detailed outline of your customer base, the most and least popular products, and what they would likely purchase if the item was available. This means that you can market your products directly at your current and ideal potential customers, increasing marketing efficiency and reducing costs.

    Ultimately, a business must be prepared for the long terms benefits that a customer loyalty program can bring. A loyalty program can cost you as much as 5% of your revenue, but if you are willing to put that much into the task of retaining customers then the likelihood is that you will see a much larger return on your investment within 2 years. Just make sure that the customer can get something out of it; nobody likes being taken for a fool and your customers are certainly not fools, so make it beneficial for them as well as you.

    Find Out More : www.uber-uk.com

  • Nov 20

    Country houses, city hotels or outdoor venues can all make great conference locations, but before you choose your venue there are plenty of other aspects to consider.

    Choosing the location should start by which city you are planning to host your conference in. You should make sure that the city can offer conference attendees a hassle free experience with ample entertainment and affordable facilities. Cities like London are an exciting location for a meeting but they may not be convenient for parking, space or price.

    If you are unsure of the best location you should do a quick survey to gauge where the majority of your guests will be travelling from and what they would prefer. This will ensure the maximum attendance and make your guests more receptive to your ideas. Some people prefer the excitement of the city while others will prefer to relax in the country.

    Make sure that your location has enough rooms, restaurants and other businesses to meet the needs of your guests once the conference is over. If a conference has been successful in a particular area before this does not mean that you have to use it again. Rotating the location of the conference could pull more people in and keep the event on its toes.

    The size of the conference venue is important. Even if you know it will be big enough for all of your guests a room that is too big could impact negatively. Any connection or closeness with your audience will be lost if the room is too big. Your event may seem unpopular or as if a lot of people have not turned up.

    Many companies now specialise in helping you choose and negotiate your venue. Conference services can be hired to assist with every detail such as collaborating with hotel management or liaising with caterers to save you time and worry.

  • Aug 25

    One of the most successful strategies today for retaining and building your customer relationships is something called Voice Broadcasting. Voice Broadcasting incorporates all the things your clients like about personal, one-on-one, relationship-building marketing without all the things you hate. In case youre not aware of its capabilities, let me explain the technology.

    First, we start with a database of phone numbers for people with whom you already have some sort of relationship. You create a short, but motivating message that you want to leave them. Something like: “Hi, this is Bob Jones, from Re/Max Alliance. I’m calling because I’d like to tell you about a special Foreclosure Property Listing program we’ve instituted for our top clients. We’d like to offer you a 15% discount on admission to this program. All you have to do to qualify for this price break is call our 24 hour, toll-free recorded message line at 855-666-5555. If you listen to this message, within 48 hours you’ll get the secret password that will give you access to this discount. You can also find this secret password on our web site; www.bobjones.com. Thanks for being such a great client.

    Your message is recorded using a regular phone. Next, you then email your list of recipients to the company that provides the Voice Broadcasting service, and your message gets sent to the list of numbers you provided. The message is sent during a specified time of day, when your prospect is least likely to be home and your message is most likely to be picked up by voice mail.

    Your prospects receive a personalized message from you, without you having to call anyone. They weren’t harassed by a sales call, you didn’t waste time with someone whose not interested and they can replay the message at their leisure to collect the pertinent info when it suits them. And if a live human answers, the system simply says Oops, sorry! and hangs up! No one wants to bother them, and this system prevents that completely!

    So there you have it. Short, but powerful messages that you can send to literally thousands of people at one timewithout any work except for the 30-40 seconds it takes to record your message! There are endless ways you can use this amazing system to explode your profits. Business owners are using this system every day!

    A company named Automated Marketing Solutions would like to help you grow your business by using this method, as well as other marketing strategies. It is AMS intent to ensure that we leave no stone unturned when it comes to your education on Technology, Marketing and as a result, Success. For more information, visit http://www.automatedmarketingsolutions.com

    Automated Marketing Solutions Also published at How Voice Broadcasting Can Help You.

  • Jan 30