2 h List Building: Your In-Store Promotion Campaign’s Major Goal.

Here’s a retail riddle: Which of your assets never shows up on your inventory list or your general ledger? Which asset do we often praise but then neglect to utilize in our business building plans?

Of course, the answer I’m after is “my customers.” You may protest, “But I do recognize the importance of my customers!”

Of course you do. But you may not treat their names, addresses and preferences like collectibles—each a mini treasure—in your quest for building a better business.

BUILDING YOUR CONTACT LIST is the single most important thing you can do to assure your future success. So, if “my customers” is at the top of the list you made when you were reading the last chapter, then building that customer list (and yes, other kinds of contacts is the single most important reason for you to have an event. So now, you’ll want to move that contact list to the top of the list and keep it mind as you plan. There is a way you can put almost every idea in this book to work as part of your list-building effort.

Even if you believe you are already doing a good job of collecting your customers’ names, check your techniques against this list:

• I keep a list of my customers’ vital statistics, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. Preferably even birthdates and anniversaries.
• I know exactly what aspects of my business interests each one. In other words, I categorize them by something more than their zip codes and/or how much they spend with me each year.
• I can tell from my list precisely where my business can grow to meet their needs.
• I stay in regular contact with this list—in ways that will arrest their attention. (Yes, that’s where in-store promotion comes in!)
• My list is so detailed and organized that I can filter and focus a specific promotion effort on the customer each would most appeal to. (This is a great way to save mailing costs when indicated.)
• Though I may keep a list handy in an index card box, I also capture the data on a program like Excel so that I can use its power to reach exactly the right customers at the right time.
• Media contacts are an important way to get the word out about your in-store events. They should be on your list specially coded in your database as to media type. It should include feature editors, business editors, TV producers, radio and TV hosts, and even bloggers and editors of related Web sites.
• Your contact list should also include networks other than customers and media. They might be advertising department contacts, community leaders, and even resources including your vendors They can be kept on separate lists. If you use one database for all your lists, code each name as to the kind of network it fits in. That way you can easily filter your list by category.

Caveat: If your store isn’t computerized so that you can keep detailed lists, don’t let that derail this effort. You can design an effective system that lets you manipulate lists by hand. It won’t be as time efficient as a computer, but it will work in most, if not all, other ways.

 

MORE ON THIS SUBJECT AND OTHERS IN A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions...