The recipe for increasing business in general, getting customers to return more often, building goodwill, and increasing the value of your business has just a few simple ingredients: A fishbowl or vase, 3" x 5" cards, the willingness to invest some time and a small amount of money, and a desire to be successful. Easily created in a few hours, results become noticeable in just a few months, with significant returns by the end of a year. Intrigued? Read on...
I am always amazed by how few businesses really know who their customers are or what they want. Business success is, after all, based upon meeting customer needs better than you competition. One way to do that is to be able to build a customer list by zipcode. Knowing tthis information will help in placing advertisements in the correct media or section of the media. Why advertise county-wide if all your customers are along State Road 200? Use those sections of the media that address that area, for example The Leader section of the Star Banner instead of the main publication. If all of your customers are business owners, the Ocala Business Journal may target your customers better than general media.
But where is the source for this customer information? Especially in retail, how do you find data about your casual customers who just make a purchase and leave? Do you have to "fish" for this information? Maybe...
Consider putting a fishbowl by your cash register with a stack of 3"x 5" cards (you could also use a vase or other holder that has a wide body and narrow neck). Type up a flyer that announces your monthly contest and put it next to the fishbowl in a plexiglas holder (about $5 at an office supply store).
Your contest should offer a worthwhile monthly prize for free (NOT a percentage off another purchase), require the entrant to provide their name, mailing address, and phone number or e-mail. They will have to check a "yes" or "no" for willingness to receive notices of special sales from you by mail or e-mail. You can have an optional line reading, "How can we improve our service / value to you?" The rules should state that you will post the name of the winner each month, they must come into your business to see if they have won. Your 3" x 5" cards should be preprinted but you do not need a printer to do this. You can buy blank cards, set up text in Microsoft Word, and run them through your computer printer. If you start with a hundred cards, you can adjust questions and layout as you experience customers ease or difficulty in filling them out. Use cards, not paper, because they are easier to handle when filling out.
What can this accomplish? For one, you will be building a customer list. If you enter the data into a spreadsheet, you will also see which customers are repeat customers, and can offer them "special values." You should draw customers back more frequently to see if they have won (this is the reason to make the prize worthwhile, think of the expense as an advertising cost). You will also garner information about how to improve your value from the customers' viewpoint (different products, services, hours, etc.). Ultimately, your business will be worth more (greater assets. higher sales) than it was before. Ultimately, the winner is YOU!