I was listening to a radio talk show this morning and the host was doing a commercial piece for a local pool & patio business. He described the business but spent at least as much time talking about the family who owns it.
At the end of the commercial he said something like, “A finer family you’ll never meet”.
I actually pictured in my mind’s eye, the family portrait. My message today is for you to let a little of your personal life and your family out of the bag a bit. You’ll be surprised at how much bonding you’ll do with your customers when they see your children your dog or an image of you doing your favorite hobby.
How do you do this?
- Position some photos around your business where customers and clients will see them
- Place some picture and/or stories about what’s going on in your family on your email blasts (keep away from politics!)
- In a direct-mail campaign, tie a family story around a topic that relates back to your business or a reason why you thought it would be newsworthy to your client.
A story or picture about your family vacation, your hole-in-one, your embarrassing moment can all touch people in a way that you’ll KNOW made an impression on them.
This relationship building will help your client retention and purchase frequency and even average order size. If you have employees that work on tips, your closer relationship with your customers could even mean higher tips for your staff and that’s good for employee retention and morale.