Tag Archives: Lisa J. Lehr

Quickest, Easiest Way to Make More Sales: Re-activate Past Customers

January 21, 2010 jd

by Lisa J. Lehr (Lisa is a regular contributor to this site)

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you know that getting new customers is a lot more work—and a lot less profitable—than selling more to your existing customers. Needless to say, people who’ve bought from you in the past already have a relationship with you, so they don’t need to be sold; they only need to be reminded to come back for more.

People have short memories and fickle habits. If your competitor has offered your past customers some sweet deal, “your” customers may well stray from you to cash in the coupon (or whatever it is), receive good service, and switch loyalties, never to be seen again. The good news about that is…you can do the same thing, and get them back. And not only that: you can keep them coming back.

First step: get in touch with those past customers. If you already have their e-mail addresses, great; if not, you’ll need to use postal mail. An inexpensive, simple way to do this is with a postcard, which will need to do the following:

· Tell your readers what to do: visit your store (for example, bring in the postcard for a special offer) or your website (to opt in to your list).

· Follow the usual rules of good sales writing. Words sell!

· Be attractive: following the rules of good design, yet not devoting so much space to graphics that you run out of space for words.

· Entice your readers with what they’ll get when they take the next step. (Coming into your store gets them a discount or a freebie; opting in to your list gives them a heads-up on all specials, sales, and new offerings.)

· Use both sides of the postcard. An often-overlooked strategy: put a map to your place of business. You’d be surprised—even customers who know where you’re located are more likely to visit if you show them how to get there!

· Be prepared with the second step, i.e., whatever you’re going to give them when they visit your website or your store.

Now, once you’ve reestablished your relationship with your past customers, keep them! This is where your e-mail list is so important. You’ll stay top-of-mind, and when they need something, they’ll come to you—not your competitor. An essential part of the process is a website. The e-mails they get from you will be completely automated and anti-spam-compliant.

If you don’t have one yet, we seriously need to talk!

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

animals, Local Writers & Contributors

Cat stuck in a tree: if they could come down, they would

November 12, 2009 jd 4 Comments

cat-in-tree

“Ever see a cat skeleton in a tree?”

This sarcastic question is usually intended to “prove” that cats never get stuck in trees. When they feel like coming down, they will, goes this misguided thinking. The premise of the lame joke, however, is utter nonsense. Cats do get stuck in trees. They do die. Here’s why, and what to do if your cat (or a cat you know) ever gets stuck in a tree.

A cat usually climbs a tree for one of two or three reasons: she’s chasing something (like a squirrel), she’s running away from something (like a dog), or perhaps she just wants to see what’s up there. Okay, so Kitty is way-high-up in a tree, the danger (or the fun or the mystery) is gone, and it’s time to come down. Why doesn’t she come down on her own?

A cat’s claws are designed for climbing up. A cat is not a squirrel; squirrels can climb up, down, and sideways, always headfirst, no problem. But a cat must climb with her head up to avoid falling, and once she’s up, the only way down is to back down. (The margay, or tree ocelot, a rare cat found in the rain forests of Mexico, Central America, and South America, is the only cat that can climb down a tree headfirst.)

Once she’s close enough to the ground, she’ll turn around and jump down; the biggest challenge is a tree that has no low branches, like a pine tree. By the time the immediate danger or curiosity has passed, Kitty has used her burst of adrenaline and does not have enough energy left for the time-consuming, frightening task of descent. This is especially true of an indoor cat with little or no climbing experience.

The good news is, cats have been known to survive over a week in a tree and have sustained falls of over a hundred feet without serious injury. The bad news is, a panicked cat will continue to go…up. Worse, a cat may eventually become too weak to climb down, and after a point, even if rescued, may die later of starvation, dehydration, or exposure.

We don’t see cat skeletons in trees because of a well-known law of nature called gravity: Kitty becomes too weak to hold on, lets go, and falls.

What do you do?

If the cat is not too high—a distance you feel confident climbing yourself—wear gloves, long sleeves, and long pants. Take a pillowcase and rope with you. Make the first grab count; if you only succeed in scaring Kitty, she may go higher. Grab her by the scruff of the neck and stuff her into the pillowcase; secure it with the rope and lower it carefully to someone on the ground. Take the bagged kitty indoors before opening the pillowcase.

If you can’t manage the rescue yourself, wait no more than a couple days. That’s about the longest it will take Kitty to decide to come down if she can. Call your cat. If it doesn’t encourage her to come down, it will at least let her know she’s not forgotten. Keep dogs and other unnecessary commotion away. Try tempting her with food.

If your cat does not meow, it means one of two things: she’s too weak to do so (bad) or she doesn’t feel she is in trouble (good). Unfortunately, you can’t tell which it is.

Get help sooner rather than later if:

It’s a kitten. Kittens do not have the weight or strength to hang on.

It’s an indoor cat. She’s not used to being exposed, and she has no climbing skills.

She’s declawed. A declawed cat has virtually no chance of climbing down without help.

The cat has been up there for more than two days. After this, her chance of getting down on her own declines sharply, especially considering she’s becoming weaker as time passes.

Wet, cold, or windy weather is forecast.

An electrical storm is forecast. If you do decide to call someone, he may decline to come, out of concern for his own safety.

She’s injured or literally stuck—wedged or (worse) impaled.

The stranded kitty’s plight is causing stress to you or another family member.

There’s a reasonable fear of attack by wild animals.

Her meowing is bothering someone. You don’t want a grouchy, cat-hating neighbor to shoot your cat down.

Who’re you gonna call?

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Business

How Business Owners Can Get Ahead in “This Economy”

October 29, 2009 jd 2 Comments

Lisa-J.-Lehr
By Lisa J. Lehr

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of hearing the phrase “in this economy.” As in: “Everyone’s trying to save money…in this economy.” “Who can afford this, that, or the other thing…in this economy?” “Good luck getting a job, making a profit, running a business…in this economy.”

It’s as if “this economy” is a catch-all excuse for failure, inaction, and stuck-ness. Okay, certain things are out of our control. But let’s not throw everything that is within our control into the same hopeless bag. If you’re a business owner, there’s a lot you can do to secure an advantage over your competition who’s given in to the doom-and-gloom mentality of “this economy.”

Here are some starters:

Figure out your USP, and tell everybody what it is. If you’re not sure if you even have a USP, it means “unique selling proposition.” So what makes you so special? If you’re not the biggest, the oldest, or the closest, you must have something else that no one else has. Dig it out, polish it up, show it off. Hint: what do your best customers say about you?

2 Make sure your website is as good as it can be. Please don’t tell me you don’t have a website! (Okay, do tell me…I can help.) Forget the flash and snazzy graphics. You need a clean, easily navigable, informative website. The more content, the better—both for getting more web traffic and for making your readers know, like, and trust you. People who know, like, and trust you will buy from you! And on that website

3. Put an opt-in form in a prominent place. This simple tool can literally bring in 90% of your sales. If you’re not sure what this is, I’m sure you’ve seen them on other websites: people enter their name and e-mail address and give you permission to keep in touch with them. Voila, when they need the product or service you offer, guess who’s top-of-mind—you!

4. Be famous. Not celebrity-famous—but establishing yourself as an expert in your field will put you light-years ahead of your competitors. This means you offer articles, news releases, blog posts, case studies, white papers, even an informative Yellow Pages ad—all kinds of free, no-obligation content that gets your name “out there” and convinces people you know your stuff. Secondary benefit: all that “free stuff” makes people feel indebted to you—and more likely to choose you over your competitors.

5.Have materials to hand out. Called “marketing collateral,” these are all the print pieces that support any sales messages you have: brochures, free articles, point-of-sale take-home pieces, catalogs, magalogs, white papers, and so on. These offline pieces have a “stickiness” that online content doesn’t have: people will keep, re-read, and pass along to others informative reading material. Make sure your contact info (including your web address!) is on everything.

5.Advertising can be expensive. And that “I can’t afford to advertise…in this economy” mentality has led to the failure of many businesses…especially in this economy. But the above relatively simple and inexpensive strategies will give you the visibility, authority, and distinction you need to remain competitive in your field. Even in this economy. Especially in this economy.