One of the most important offline direct marketing principles that I’ve learned over the years has been using a “stick” letter.
What’s a “stick letter”?
A stick letter simply means following up with your customer by sending him a letter AFTER the sale has been made.
In the letter you congratulate them on a wise decision, reinforce all the benefits they will enjoy as a result of having bought your product, and maybe even introduce them to another one of your related products or services.
What’s the point of doing this?
Because we have all experienced levels of doubt, worry, and buyer’s remorse.
Consumers have very short memories when it comes to purchases. And they can be very fickle about funny things.
While a prospect could have been SALIVATING over your ebook a day earlier, once they get it, something as trivial as the artwork on the cover could cause them to want to return it.
Maybe they would have kept the product, but are just worried that it may not be everything they hoped it would.
Either way, you want to SQUASH any doubt or indecision in your customer’s mind. You just don’t know what they’re thinking, so it’s absolutely crucial to make sure the sale sticks before you begin celebrating.
You could sell 1000 products, but if a majority get returned, what’s the use in that?
That’s why stick letters are so important. And in the Internet Age, you can simply do this with an email.
Immediately after the purchase, send an email thanking them for their purchase. CONGRATULATE them on making a great decision, be sure to include more testimonials of people just like them having success with your product, and maybe even expose them to a related product or service that could help them even more.
Let your new customer know that you are available for questions if they need your help.
In short, quell all their doubts, fears, and worries. It works.
A great example of this happened a couple of months back when I bought Robert Phillips’ great blog carnival submission service.
Even though I understand buying emotions to a degree, I’m still human after all. So when I first bought the service, I was a little worried if I was making the the right investment.
I hemmed and hawed for a little while before finally pulling the trigger. And even after I submitted my order, I was still a little worried about how effective the service would be. Not HUGELY worried, but you know, just a little anxious.
Suddenly I get a stick email from Robert that totally erased any doubts that I had.
He congratulated me on my investment, outlined the entire process of how the blog carnival submission service would work, showed me more testimonials of happy customers of his, and told me to contact him with any questions or concerns.
And the most effective language he used was something to the effect of “And now just sit back, relax, and watch the inbound links come in on autopilot, week after week!”
If that doesn’t make you grin, what will? Hey, even I can sit back, kick my feet up, and watch inbound links come in!
So, cheers to Robert and his well thought out stick letter. It really made an impact on me.
And of course, since I’m still a customer of his, it’s safe to say that his service is everything he said it would be. Because the true test of making sales stick is having a quality product or service, of course.
-James D. Lee
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