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If you’re doing business in a small town, you may wonder why you should bother setting up a website at all. You’re too far away from the big city for crowds of people to come to you. What’s the use? Even aside from planning to move your business to a metropolis or selling your current products on your website, there are still many good reasons to get online. A major one is being able to talk to and get feedback from your customers.
Connect with Customers
What are the names of ten customers who visited your store this week? What’s the last product each one bought? What do they want to see coming to your store? A website or other online presence can help you find answers to all of these questions.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to start connecting with your clients and leads is with a mailing list. Email newsletters are a great way to keep in touch with your customers, put your brand at the front of their minds, and solidify your reputation as a helpful expert. Here are some ways to get them to sign up:
- Online
Find an online mailing list service to handle the dirty work of keeping your list up-to-date, so you can focus on building quality content and running your business. Free and inexpensive services such as Your Mailing List Provider are ideal for small businesses just starting out, and will work even when your customer list gets into the thousands. YMLP and others also offer a Subscribe widget, allowing you to gather user signups from your website simply by pasting a chunk of HTML code. - At the Checkout
Put a sign-up sheet at your cash register or reception desk, and have your cashier/receptionist ask each customer if they want to be added to the list. If there’s time, they may even be able to add the client’s data directly into the online database. A second list can be available for those who don’t go through the checkout line or otherwise miss the front desk. The information gathered can be as little as the person’s name and email address, but it may help to also include their zip code, department interests, or other targeting data. - In-Store Promotions
Leads and customers alike will be drawn to a contest. Make it something worthwhile and relevant that people will get excited about, and set a date to pick a winner. Announcing the winner will also be another excuse for contacting everybody on your mailing list again.
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Paitson Bros Ace Hardware [sadly defunct now] used contesting to good effect to gain hundreds of newsletter subscribers. Gas prices were running high, so they offered a $50 gas card to the winner of a prize drawing each month. They received a great number of entries from walk-ins alone, not to mention those who signed up online.
Whatever your approach, you need to find ways to (ethically) gather customer data and reach out to them, while offering every opportunity for them to reach you. Newsletter lists save you from constantly having to gain new clients and losing those you’ve courted — which are your best prospects in the first place.
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