5 Ways To Get More Customers and Keep Them Loyal-Tip #1 By Allan Katz

1.  Contests.

 

Everyone loves a contest. There are two strategies that will bring in floods of new customers into your store.

 

First, contact your regular customers and tell them about this contest.

You might call it the 'Ugliest (or Prettiest (your product)  in (your city) Contest.

 

Invite them to bring in their ugliest or Prettiest (pick one, not both) product on a specific day and your team of experts will decide who wins the contest.

 

Then you'll provide them with a before and after photo.  Get their permission to use this photo in your future ads.

 

Second, when you invite them, encourage them to bring a friend to enter the contest.  When they do, you'll provide them and their friend a gift certificate for future products or services, plus the chance to win the contest.

 

Third, Send out a direct mail postcard to residents in your area, promoting the Contest.  Give them the rules and also add a gift certificate just for entering the contest, to encourage them to begin shopping at your store or using your services.  You can use the 'Get the Friend' idea here also.

 

Besides the direct mail campaign, send a press release to your local newspaper announcing the contest.  You may want to take a picture of a really ugly or pretty (product) and send it with the press release to make it real and dramatic. Contact some of the radio stations, send the DJ an ugly product and see if they'll give it a mention.

 

I want your success stories on this contest promotion.  Email me with questions but I want to hear how you used this successfully.  I'll share your success stories with other readers of this newsletter and in future editions of the Complete Guide to Retail Loyalty Marketing.