falling thru the cracks

[greenoak]

we have built a great mailing list,which is key for our marketing.....we have always gotten this list in a nice zipless fashion....from every check we get......
the last few years we see the new shopper is way less likely to write us a check and whips out a credit card.....and we dont have a system for getting her address....dh says a more expensive creditcard program could get it for us...not too likely....and we arent very good at getting her to sign up for the mailing....we never had to before..

i feel like we are missing a lot of good names.....we have about 4000 on our list and do first class snail mail 4 times a year...with great results..
am i missing an easy way to get these missed names?
ann

[KristineS]

Do you have a newsletter sign up on your site? It's a pretty simple thing to add, and it just generally asks for a e-mail and a name. I'm sure you could expand it to ask for a snail mail address as well.

Put the sign up on your site and then let people know that your mailings contain special discounts or information your customers can't get anywhere else. Not everyone will sign up, but you should capture some addresses that way.

[greenoak]

i never thought of that...it might catch a few new ones.... and easy to do..
.guess i need to figure if we want to expand who cnan get on the list....now it is limited to people who have spent money with us....and online sign up would broaden it more....
ann

[Patrysha]

Put up a raffle box by the till with a small prize. I'm sure you'll get tons of new addresses to add to your mailing list :-) (you can limit it to those who purchase, but keep in mind that just because someone doesn't buy today won't buy in the future...I believe that especially with email you should market to anyone who is willing to give you their information to be on your list...it's very inexpensive marketing)

Another idea...have your web address on each till receipt (that would give you the buyers since only buyers get a receipt) and get them to sign up online. (Offering a coupon for their next visit can be a good incentive to get them to do so)

[orion_joel]

Another idea, may be ok. What about when you do your mailout you get a bunch of extra's printed and then for the month or two after the mailout give one to everyone that comes in. I am not sure what your mailouts are like if it would be expensive or not. However something you may like to add is a form they can fill in to be on the mailing list to receive the mailout quarterly. Or when you do send out the mailout, have a form on the envelope that people can fill in for a friend or someone to get a copy for them.

[greenoak]

thanks.....i wish we could just do email...its almost free..and we get a lot of signups on our site....
our snail way is pretty expensive.....but has worked so well we hate to drop it or change it....the mailer is for a specific event on a specific day...so it would be out of date any other time.....like now its about our christmas openhouse....which we hope for 8 or 900 people to come...and spend 30 or 40$ ....
we have a lasercolor printer etc...so we can make about anything........
i just hate missing all the new people who just use cards...and we try and set up paper signups, then forget about it....

[orion_joel]

You could do email in conjunction with your snail mail. You mention your snail mail is for specific events, ok fair enough, how about doing a once per month email that you send them a short update with a link to a pdf on your website with the new arrivals.

Just because you are using one and it is successful does not always mean that you have to drop it to try something else, the great thing about something is, that if it is working you should leave it be and continue with that. However at the same time you need to look to try as many other avenues as you can to see what will come of them.

Also since you have the color laser printer why not do some kind of flyer or leaflet of some sort that you can give to customers, and have a form on the bottom that they can fill in and give to you or send back later to get on your mailing list. Maybe for more expensive items that may need special care a leaflet about how to care for the product. There is almost always something you can find to put on a leaflet, you can give to customer as they are leaving or when they purchase. It may cost you 40 or 50 cents but it may also lead to some more signups. Again something that you can test and if it works fantastic if not drop it.

[vangogh]

All good thoughts above.

Do you ever offer coupons? You could offer the through the mailer and have a sign up form at the counter when people are making a purchase. Let them know you mail out coupons a few times a year and ask if they'd like to receive them and then give them the form to collect the info you want.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

How about asking to see their ID when utilizing a credit card and then scanning/photocopying the ID... Drivers License has their contact info on it.. and it's less hassle for them. Plus asking to see their ID with a CC Purchase makes them think your a responsbible merchant

[orion_joel]

The only problem with this is privacy laws, as well as following correct procedures of maintaining the copy, destruction of the copy and such to meet the law.

[vangogh]

I was thinking the same thing. I wouldn't take too kindly to a company that made me give them an ID when they didn't need it just so they could grab my contact info. I'd see it as an invasion of privacy and would look to do business elsewhere.

You really should have people give you their contact info voluntarily, whether it's by asking for it or giving them something they see as a benefit that requires an email or mailing address for delivery.

[greenoak]

it was so easy with just harvesting the checks....now all these ideas seem possible but probably lots harder and time consuming...
. i will put a email blank on the drawing form we will have for christmas....and stress that the email list gets a coupon once a month.......i dont like them but i should give it a try.....seems like most of our customers forget them....
we dont check id....isnt that wierd...but we rarely get a bad check either....
ann

[Patrysha]

They really don't have to be time consuming at all.

If you have a newer POS system all you'd have to do is add a quick message to your footer with instructions to sign up for your email newsletter.

I would not advise sending coupons...instead fill it with things like how to care for antiques or other fun things to do while shopping in your area (I think you mentioned before that you tend to be a destination shop...) -- Or show some different uses of period pieces if you do those type of antiques -- or interior design tips with new products...

Then from time to time you can add specials or mention new arrivals or talk about your top sellers and why they are top sellers.

It's really not too difficult to do, and if it intimidates you to think of producing it each month...hire the job out - I"m sure the return will be worth it (I know it is for clients I've helped in that area)

[vangogh]

I like the idea of caring for antiques as part of the newsletter. Maybe something about how to determine what an antique is worth would work too. Anything that helps people is the kind of thing that will get them to sign up.

[greenoak]

these new suggested ways to get the names into our database are very time consuming compared to the old way..thats the problem.....the old way took no time or conversation at the counter at all..we got them from the checks...its part of the system of depositing the checks...
.good points on the newletter....thanks......
.i try and cover those subjects on the blog a lot....values ...but i never thought about how to care for antiques...i guess they might like hearing some of that too...
im not really intimidated...thats pretty strong...just trying to get it better...among many things!!!

[vangogh]

I think it would be fairly easy to have a newsletter sign up form at the counter. Whoever is ringing up the sale would just need to mention it. You won't get the same success rate that you got grabbing info off a check, but I bet you'd get a response and you'd know that the people who do sign up are the ones most receptive to your message.

The person at the register who used to add the info while the sale was taking place could now do the same after the sale. The sign up could be a single line on a page, kind of like the thing you'd sign for a petition. One column for each piece of info you want to collect.

[Patrysha]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I really don't see how many of the methods will be more time consuming than your previous way of taking information from the checks.

Once you've set up your attraction methods there really is very little effort on your part other than keeping the communication going.

It's just as easy to say, "While I get this wrapped..." or "While I'm ringing this through..." -- please sign up for our (list/newsletter/customer appreciation database) so we can keep in touch with specials and information...

That takes no more effort than copying information from checks. Plus you won't be risking getting people mad by taking the information without permission. Everything these days is so permission-based that if you were taking the details off checks still, there would be some who would get your mailing and be upset if they didn't give expressed consent for you to do so. (And we all know what grumpy people do...)

You already know how effective a list can be for snail mail for sending out your quarterly postcards. It really is worth the effort to expand that and add email as another option (and through there you can gently encourage them to give you their snail mail address). If you can get just a fraction of those on your list in your store again - perhaps sooner than they might have without the reminder, perhaps spending more than they would have without the reminder - then the effort will have been worth the time and energy that goes into it, won't it?

[greenoak]

we have had sign up opportunity at the counter for a longtime....it just doesnt work very well....so many reasons/excuses maybe ..
also have sign up on the website....
. i should add it to the blog too....would love to see the email list grow...i think its about 1000...
ann

[Steve B]

The accuracy of any manual sign-up system is going to be far worse than capturing it off the check. The checks are so important that people check that information carefully before it's printed. Now, you are going to have to interpret their handwriting.

Also, when I'm asked to sign up for those things I either don't do it to protect myself from junk mail or I sign up using the wrong information just to get the person off my back. I guarantee you'll end up with a lot of phoney information. But, if getting it off checks isn't the future, I think you've gotten some great suggestions despite the limitations to them.