Finding new customers is key to survival for ANY business.  Which was why I was more than a little disappointed to see that 72% of florists who replied to our Mothers Day survey said they did absolutely nothing to encourage repeat business on the basis they were too busy serving. 
Whoa! What a missed opportunity.  Here we were with a humdinger of a Mother’s Day, more customers in a three day period than many shops had seen for months and yet absolutely zilch effort was made to capture details or encourage return visits.

And that is scary.  Because whilst I can totally sympathise and remember the concept of being rushed off your feet … the fact is you can never be too busy to think forward.  You cannot bleat about there being no customers if you haven’t done your bit to get them.  And you certainly can’t blame punters for not coming back if actually you’ve seen them as the equivalent of a one night stand … great for that special MD purchase but not worth getting back in touch with them.

If you look at all the successful businesses they are the ones that have their own CRM (Customer Relation Marketing) programme in place.  And no, I’m not talking about big name stores … I’m thinking about all the ‘little’ people who are doing it just as well albeit on a smaller level.  Like my local, two branch restaurant, Annie’s. She took my e-mail a few years ago when I first booked a table.  Since then I’ve received seasonal offers and news that prompt me to think of her and go back.  Not because it’s the best place but because it makes me feel wanted and appreciated.

And ‘not having enough time’ simply doesn’t wash it these days.  We’re all pushed for time … your customers as much as you.  You may think they are being lazy/unthinking/assumptive you’ll cope in leaving it till the last minute but it could just as easily be because they’re equally time pressured and so there’s a risk they’ll go to the place that remembers them.

On the face if it, other than weddings, we’re now into the fallow season.  However rather than view the coming months with trepidation seize the moment and make sure you never miss a marketing trick again.  You may not get the same numbers through the door but that doesn’t mean the world has come to a grinding halt and indeed could be the best time to start your own CRM programme.

And why the pledge should now be that EVERY customer you deal with (either by phone, website or in person) is either given a discount voucher or loyalty card and has their e-mail details taken so you can start sending them your message and making them feel part of your community.  It costs diddly quit for the amount of repeat business you could generate … it is something that any retailer, large or small, should be doing.