Using newsletters to keep customers interested
Mar 10, 2008 10:05 AM
By Sarah Aubrey
If winter is for planning and calving, springtime is for planting seeds. If you've started a small beef business, the seeds you'll be planting are those that lead customers and prospects to sales of your beef. Once you've gotten a customer, it's essential to keep enticing them to come back for more beef. One of the best ways to keep sales going month after month with the same customers is by sending out newsletters.
Believe it or not, people do read them and often look forward to the regular correspondence assuming, only, that you bring them something of value. Items of value often mean discounts, bulk quantity specials or opportunities to pre-order products that sell out fast such as steaks and beef jerky. See below for my tips for customer retention and improved sales through newsletters.
While a paper newsletter is one option, I strongly prefer email newsletters over the traditional paper. Obviously they are cheaper and if you have the correct email address, they go straight to the person you want to read it without any interference from the mailbox or whoever gets the mail. The other big reason is time and labor.
With email, once you draft your message you can send it to everyone with just a click – you'll be more likely to commit to a newsletter program if you don't have to make labels or hand address everything. Also, be certain to ask people if they'd like to join your list before just adding any email addresses you already have. Most important, take every opportunity to sign up new customers. Ask for people to join your list at fairs, farmer's markets, restaurants that sell your meat, and community events.
For getting the most of your newsletters, here are some suggestions:- Train your customers and prospects from the outset. Tell them when to expect the email and what value it will bring them if they read it
- Get yourself on a schedule and send emails out exactly when you say you will, put this task on your calendar and get it done
- Be sure your farm's name is in the subject line! Try: "Aubrey's Natural Meats ground beef sale!"
- Keep the newsletter short once you've got their attention; use bullet points
- Use
varied fonts and bold items that you want to attract them to such as:
"Order 25 pounds or more and receive 10 percent off retail price!" - Offer extras for testimonials or customer referrals. Publish what you'll offer if it is a discount or a freebie; encourage participation!
- Make items timely. Putting a date around any promotion is essential to gain commitment from customers. It's also important for your processing planning.
- Use your email list to offer specials or first come, first served allocated products (like filets) only to email customers. If they know they'll get something they want – they'll read your emails and respond!
Happy prospecting!
About the Author: Sarah Aubrey is the owner of Aubrey's Natural Meats, Indiana's premier source for gourmet natural beef and pork. She and her husband live in rural Indiana, where they raise beef cattle for her company.
To
help farmers position themselves well for the opportunities afforded by today's
market, Aubrey has authored her first book Starting & Running Your Own
Small Farm Business, which is now available for $19.95. It offers everything
readers need to know about launching a small agricultural enterprise, from
initial start-up to consumer marketing. It is the first in a series of books
Aubrey has planned for small farm businesses. For more information visit http://storey.workman.com/products/9781580176972/.
It
is also available through Amazon.com.
Read more Small Farm Strategies from Sarah Aubrey
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