Building Consignment Store Loyalty Through Email
June 19, 2019
Consignment store loyalty requires personalization
Loyalty isn’t built with lower prices or easier parking. As a business owner, you’ve got to earn trust and respect. Shoppers buy emotionally, not rationally. Earn trust and respect through building relationships. Continue those relationships by personalizing every email you send. Get data (such as name, address, phone and email) from shoppers by offering something in return. Let them sign up for a free drawing, or give them early access to new merchandise. Then, let email foster the consignment store loyalty you want from your customers.
Start with customer satisfaction
First, make sure your customers are satisfied with their shopping experience. They need to know you’re listening and are concerned about them. Kizer and Bender suggest phoning shoppers to strictly thank them for visiting your store. Follow up those calls with an email question, “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?” When they answer, be ready with the proper response. Either a hearty thanks or ask, “How can we improve?”
Build intimacy by segmenting customers
Next, divide customers into 3 categories. First, the “promoters.” These customers eagerly tell others about you. They love you. Next, the “passives.” These are satisfied customers. However, they stay quiet about your shop. Finally, there are the “detractors.” They are unhappy customers. These shoppers usually speak louder than the other two. Target your email marketing with specific messages for each. The goal is to move as many as possible into the “promoters” category.
Give preferential treatment to “promoters”
Loyal customers expect preferential treatment. Frankly, in today’s crowded retail/resale world, can you blame them? Consider an email marketing campaign giving your top customers a special VIP service, invitations to private “members-only” events or extra loyalty points. Read Stop the cycle of discounting to see other ways to reward their loyalty without giving a discount. By using emails to convey these promotions, your best customers become even bigger fans. This is the perfect group to start a bring-a-friend email promotion.
Use emails to turn “passives” into “promoters”
All of us know what it’s like to have overflowing email inboxes. You spend an hour merely clicking the “delete” button. To make sure your passive shoppers don’t easily delete your email messages, offer them something of value. A “we miss you” message can offer a special incentive to come back. Add a deadline date to ensure a quick response. Send an informational email that gives them the latest trends or even a survey that asks specific shopping experience questions. All of these build consignment store loyalty.
Reach out to your “detractors” too
It may seem odd to reach out to your detractors, but often they just want to be heard. Nine times out of 10 if you reach out to a negative shopper, they’ll back down. Usually, all bark and no bite. Above all, tell them you are willing to listen and hopefully resolve their issue. Ask for another opportunity.
Include testimonials, reviews and customer photos.
Be sure to give your customers their 15 minutes of fame. By emailing customer photos and sharing great stories or reviews, everyone gets to share in that warm, fuzzy feeling about your store. Create a sense of pride in customers because they’re being smart, savvy, earth-sustaining shoppers. Personalize messages to help them feel important. After awhile, you become a family rather than just another place to shop.
“80% of your company’s future revenue will come from just 20% of your existing customers.” Forbes
For more on growing and using your email list:
14 Simple Ways To Build Your Store’s Email List
10 Steps To Improve Consignment Email Marketing
9 Consignment Emails You Should Send This Holiday – Infographic
