It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do — unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s pretty clear that the economy is in rough shape right this minute. That’s bad news for retailers: when customers are nervous about where their next paycheck is coming from and if they can make the mortgage payment, they don’t shop as often, and they don’t buy as much.
However, they still do shop. This is the time when it’s absolutely CRITICAL that you have and use your database!
A very good friend of mine is in the high end apparel business. This economy’s been rough on him — to the point where even he would tell you that his business tanked this summer. Nobody was buying.
So he went to his database, generated as list of customer’s addresses, and sent his clientele a coupon for 20% off. Suddenly, the customers came flying through the door — to take advantage of what was, for this retailer, a rare sales event.
Yes, he did give them 20% off: but 80% is tremendously better than 0%, and that’s roughly what he was making before the coupon campaign!
If you’re in the same spot, go to your database. Reach out to your customer. Customers are incredibly price conscious right now: it’s the time to offer them a deal as a way to say “Thank you” for sticking with you through the tough times!
