Email Asset makeover - (because they sincerely DON'T really care about you, they only care about filling their pockets)

Cancelled a product, membership or service recently? 

So what did you get back from the company by way of a follow up communication?

Well, depending on the company or business, you've probably not received anything at all as most are firstly unware about the lifetime value of a customer. 

And secondly, most are unaware of the various impact points throughout their customer communications funnels and sequences and so can't actually do anything to fix them. 

You can't fix what you can't measure, see or know about.  

Or, you'll have gotten something that sounds like they want to bribe you back into their arms, without really ever sincerely digging in and finding out why it is you cancelled.

Of course, many people don't want to give any reason at all why they've cancelled and simply ignore any communication they receive that's designed to enquire - and that's whether or not the follow up communication is sincere or not. 

They, we, just want to be left alone and carry on with our day.   

And in case you're thinking that it's the smart, switched on and customer centric, marketing savvy companies who've got all this sorted by way of their customer communications and follow ups, then think again. Because they're not immune to creating communications that smell of desperation.

Let's get into a follow up communication email I received from a big company in the motivation and productivity space.

To give you some context, the following email was generated because I cancelled a trial membership to one of their service based products.      

--------------------------------------------------------

Why Raja? Why?

Raja...

Maybe you can help me out with this?

Here's the deal ...  Two things:

1.  You cancelled your membership a few days ago.

2.  I think you're crazy :p

See, I'm pretty sure xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is amazing.  But you seem to disagree.
Or maybe there's some other issue?

See, I don't know.  But I want to  ...

So, if you take a second to tell me what's up, I'll give you a course
of your choice on the house (up to a $97 value).

Just click here:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Then I'll immediately send you a coupon code for the course.  Easy :-)

----------------------------------------------------------

So let's see where things could be improved. 

Subject line is good. It got me to open the email, especially because I was unaware who it was from. It's curiosity based. 

Next...

Maybe you can help me out with this?

The can you help me out with this rings as if they're coming to you for advice, yet it's really all THEM centered and focussed, and not customer focussed. 

How could that opening line be improved?    

Something like...

I'm troubled that we've let you down in some way yet I know it seems silly but we don't quite know what we've done to mess things up. 

The next line of their message -- 

Here's the deal ...  Two things:

What deal? Where's the negotiation? Why that language? And why the quick, curt, Two things line? 

Not sure who their writers are but they're not really thinking in alignment with normal human conversation. It's as if there's an urgent on their part for a response, along with a  demonstration of how cool and smart the writer is..., rather than giving full attention to the reader/recipient and focussing on their wants and needs.

So how could that all be improved? 

I've noticed you've cancelled your trial membership and that's really okay. I wanted to get in touch with you to understand what I can do to help you, to figure out how we can make the product work for you so you can benefit from it in the way we'd promised it would.

Moving on to the next piece of copy in their email...

1.  You cancelled your membership a few days ago.

2.  I think you're crazy :p  

I've touched on the first part in my version of things above, as well as the second part in a way, but the second bit of the second part is quite interesting. I think you're crazy, along with a colon and the alphabet p. I'd no idea what that was so googled it. Turns out it's the equivalent of sticking your tongue out in a playful way in real life.   

I don't know the person in the email so would I be speaking and doing that in real life to someone I don't know. No. Not really. Yet in email and with online communications, it seems nearly everyone has given themselves the freedom and license to replicate real life scenarios and conversations online, buck them, and not think anything about it. 

Big error in thinking.

The next part -- 

See, I'm pretty sure xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is amazing.  But you seem to disagree.
Or maybe there's some other issue?

What's wrong here?

The person doesn't even know if the product is amazing. They're 'pretty sure'? They're not certain. They're hedging. They're riding on a possibility. There's no evidence that says they've used it at all and can speak with any kind of credibility. So why use that line at all? 

Next piece in the same sentence assumes I disagree that the product is not amazing. Where did they get that factual info from? From nowhere except out of thin air because of their sheer laziness and guesswork.   

How to improve their line of thinking?

By replacing it with the following:

We've 3,459 (or whatever their real customer number is) people who are thrilled customers who swear by the product and think it's amazing. And of course, we'd love for you to be number 3460 but we know that that can't happen at all, until and unless we know how to help you solve whatever problems you might be having.   

-------------

Now in that email there's a link to a questionnaire where the language and thrust is all about "what can we do to win you back?" It's as if bribing osmosis is being dealt, ethical or not, and yet all of that won't do a jot of good if there's no clear understanding and connection regarding why the cancellation. 

I can tell you one thing, no matter how good the product or service, trying to plead and get people to buy and invest by offering a price cut, will get you a specific type of customer with a specific type of mind. And you can be sure there'll be a mad high percentage who won't use the product or service. In some cases it works, but price lowering is never a good idea if you want quality customers who invest and consume. 

Right now I could go on and complete the email and have a completely refreshed and revamped version. Which in turn would bring a number of cancelled subscribers back as full paying customers.    

Now let's step back a little and think about the numbers here.

The monthly membership is $47. 

Compound that out over the year and it's over $500. 

Multiply that by 5 years (and that's being conservative because just like electricity or gas, you're going to keep on paying for it if it brings you ongoing constant service, usage and value. You're not going to disconnect)...

So that's a $2500 amount. 

Factor in the suite of products and services they'll ascend people up to, you can see there's a huge amount of value stored inside one customer who buys and invests in a front end product. 

And by fixing one email in the cancellation sequence, you'll find that each month there'll be a number of $2500+ customers coming in who wouldn't previously, excusing themselves and never to be seen again. 

Tot that up over the year and you're looking at an email asset that'll continue to pay you... over and over again.  

Lesson?

Three of them.

1. Don't be casual in your communications.

2. Emails, copy, sales messages, they ARE the money bringers. Value them above anything else in your business. Because without them being the best they can be, you ARE losing a stream of income. Continually.  

3. And so now look through your entire suite of marketing and sales communications and ask this simple question -- "how can we improve this?" 

 Do the above and you'll find you'll add plenty to your bottom line. Plenty.

 

Creating value based follow-up emails are worth an ongoing mint. If you want to know about 20 other WAYS you can retain your customers and clients, pick up this handy one page guide here that'll help you do exactly that.    

    

 raja . hireker @ gmail . com 
07903 905 802 

Come from communication spirit

No.

Not the kind of spirit that's delightfully sold to you as a beautiful drug that supposedly makes you human and relatable.

Not that kind of drug infested spirit.

I'm talking about the animating force that's inside us all. That pure abundant spirit of self expression that makes us uniquely us. That toe tapping, finger clicking, soulful yet rocking rhythm that has us rise up and BE that force.

That's the kind of spirit I'm taking about.

And we've ALL got it.

Because when you come from that place and you put that un-chainable force you've got inside all your written marketing communications, in your audios and videos, you'll find you'll have a natural electricity flowing through your communication veins that it all becomes... irresistibly infectious.

And as most marketing communications, campaigns, and promotions are visibly and viscerally dull, tepid, flat out boring, devoid of almost all spirit and self-expression, there's no better time to bring forth that spirit and unleash it. 

When you do, you'll see a stark difference in not only how much energy, fun and spirit you bring to creating your communications and marketing pieces, but you'll see a significant difference in how your customers, clients and prospects respond to them. (Translate that into also meaning more money in the bank for you.)   

There's nothing to write home about if you've had an average, lukewarm, so so kind of experience. That's true for all of us, no matter who we are, no matter what the experience. 

And there's definitely nothing to write home about for your customers and prospects if they are constantly faced with the sea of communication sameness you see presented almost everywhere.

Time to change it. Time to reinvent. Time to have new communication spirit be the order of the day, every day.           

Want to experience what kind of transformative difference coming from spirit, makes?

Let me give you an example. 

And you don't need to necessarily like tennis or be overly connected to sports to get the difference making transformation at work here. Simply transfer the lesson over into your communications and presentations. 

Engaging irresistible commentary (radio or tv) makes a real difference in the readers and listeners experience. 

The difference maker that makes the difference? 

The commentator. 

You'll note there's a stark difference in the commentary style of someone like John McEnroe, than that of someone like John Lloyd or Martina Navratilova. Lloyd and Navratilova are run of the mill at best. Their styles, language, word choice, all mixed in with a monotone drone, makes the listener or viewer experience, a forgettable one.  

On the other hand, McEnroe brings his unique perspective, he takes a definite stand one way or another, he's incredibly intelligent in his understandings and his ability to communicate that understanding in a connected and engaging way is what brings a smile, joy, increased viewership and listenership, and... a happy visceral experience.

He comes from pure spirit and unbridled self-expression.      

Lloyd and Navratilova?

They're audibly and visibly limited in spirit, self-expression, knowledge transference, word choice, creative juggling with language.

As such...

The experience is COMPLTELY different for the listener or viewer. 

That's the kind of measurable difference you can create in your communications when you come from full spirit and unbridled self-expression. 

What do you want YOUR communications to be filled with?  

 

      

a Simple marketing & cashflow formula

Open your Internet browser, plug in the term marketing, and you'll get...

3 BILLION results (at least that's what google chrome just threw up for me right now at this moment in time --2nd September 2021, 10.03am, London UK)    

It took Google a fat 1.1 seconds to curate all that.

Masterful.

And yet, if you're looking for marketing help, advice, information, you now know you've a bog deep minefield (of mostly quackery) to wade through and to make head and tails sense out of. 

Danger is imminent. 

Because you'll quickly find that your time, isn't actually yours. It'll be drained and drowned inside multiple marketing rabbit holes. No wonder business owners and online entrepreneurs are continually complaining about how flat out pooped they are each day. 

They're always travelling! 

No wonder.

Here's a simple marketing formula for you that'll bypass the billion or so search terms and their associated websites and information.

D-r-u-m  r-o-l-l

Create hot irresistible offers and present them to your most viable prospects.    

Can it be that simple?

You can decide that for yourself by carrying out the simple experiment below. 

If you've a number of existing clients and customers, present them with additional, higher value, higher priced products and services. 

And to those new prospects? Find more of them and present them with your front end offers, and take them up your products and services ascension ladder.

Admittedly, not very schexee. 

However, whilst everyone and their moustache wearing giraffe is off tying to conqueror and capture the whole world marketplace with their offerings, wearing themselves out in the process, you can all but clean up in your patch of the universe by working the above non- glitzy strategy.

Of course, if you're a glutton for the complex, have deep enough pockets, want to be everywhere trying to reach everyone who might not even be your ideal customer or client, and you want to be in all media formats... then go full steam ahead and see how that way of doing things, works out for you.

However, if you try all that and find it's not to your liking, (or pocket) guess what; there's a simple juicy plan above that's ripe and ready for plucking.  

They're your living, breathing, walking cash machines

Getting a new customer or client through the door can for many, be the most complex, painful, and chaotic process. 

Let's not forget it's the most expensive. Insanely so, if you don't know what you're really doing.

And yet...

When you realise approximately 80% of the wealth and equity, and your future bank money, is locked up inside your past and current customers and clients...

And... once you embrace that fact, mining and extracting that untapped wealth mine lying inside your existing customer assets can be an exciting and fun game for you.

It'll be way more profitable for you, costs little, once you start building out your product ladder and ascend your customers up that ladder.

And they'll gladly take the steps up to your higher placed offerings, so long as there are higher placed offerings for them to take advantage of.

Not only that...

There's a small percentage of your customers who'll buy and invest in an even higher priced offering, one you haven't yet created.

Read that again.

There's a small number of your customers who'll buy and invest in the most ludicrous highest priced offer you've not even planned or conceived of yet. (See P. Marshall's book 80/20 Sales and Marketing to get the full scoop on this).

So what does that tell you?

Get busy creating, planning, and presenting!

Because yes, your customers and clients are living, breathing, walking cash machines and they'll continue to give you their money and custom, if you set, structure and plan things in that way for them. They'll gladly and willingly do that.

And no...

You cannot simply be rubbing your greedy paws and jumping up and down in a mad frenzied glee in thinking all you have to do is send promotion after promotion in order to tap into all this wealth that's lying there for the taking.

Cultivating and nurturing your existing customer relationships IS one of the highest value activities you can undertake.

Do it right, and you'll see amazing things happening. 

One of them being releasing the constant struggle and focus on bringing in new clients and customers. And where now you can divert a good portion of attention and focus on mining and extracting the vital bulk of your profits lying inside your existing clients, customers and prospects. 

It's the most profitable activity you can undertake as the lifetime value of your clients and customers shoots way up. 

If you want a handy 1-page pdf guide showing you 20 Customer Retention and Customer Astonishment Money Map Triggers that'll help you zero in on extracting all that wealth from your existing customers, send your request to me at  the following: raja . hireker @ gmail . com