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MAILING LISTS & PROMOTIONS
by Keith Katsikas (CEO & Publisher, TopShelf)
www.TopShelfMagazine.net
events, new releases, pre-releases, book clubs,
author events, etc. Always include a way for
customers to get in touch with you.
SATISFACTION SURVEY - One great way
to get to know your customers better and
provide them with superior customer service is
by creating a customer satisfaction survey. Post
the survey on your social media pages, website,
and eNewsletters, and have it available in
your store. Use the responses you receive to
improve offerings, communications, staff
training, events, etc. Surveys are an essential
way to keep customers happy.
Example Questions:
• How many times a month do you visit bookstores?
• How many books have you purchased in the past
six months?
• What types of books did you purchase?
• What genre do you enjoy?
• Are you interested in a reward program?
• Are you interested in a book club?
• Would you recommend our store?
• Why or why not?
MAILING LIST - How do your customers
find out about the current promotions you
offer? Customer mailing lists are one of the
most effective ways to keep in touch with
customers and improve the profitability of
your business. The people who sign up for
your list are permitting you to contact them.
These are your hottest customers. If you
haven’t started a customer mailing list, you
seriously should start gathering one
immediately. The process of creating a free
MailChimp account is both fast and simple.
You will want to integrate a subscription
form into your website, blog, and social
media pages. All of this information can be
found at MailChimp.com. We don’t get paid
for referrals. We’re just customers who use
and love MailChimp.
Explain on the form what customers should
expect to receive and how often. Don’t ask too
many questions because you want the decision
to join to be a simple one. Usually, a name and
email are more than enough. An excellent way
to entice customers to participate is to offer
them a 25% Off Your Next Purchase
coupon. Let them use the coupon the same day
they join. It’s important to explain that you’ll
never sell, trade, or share your customer’s
information with any other party.
EMAIL CAMPAIGNS - Once you have a
significant list (this is determined by your
shop’s geographic location and overall
customer base, but I’d suggest no fewer than
50 emails), it’s time to start notifying
customers of store events, specials, book clubs
and any other news you’d like to share.
However, take caution, no one wants spam.
NO ONE! It’s never a good idea to send
more than one email a week to your list, and
make every email count. Think about it this
way, if you wouldn’t want it in your inbox,
don’t send it to your customers’.
MailChimp makes creating email campaigns
simple for everyone. They offer a variety of
MEMBERSHIP - Store membership
helps people feel connected and engaged
in what you’re doing. Providing
discounts such as “buy one get one free”
adds an extra incentive to join and will
encourage members to shop more. But
beware, these types of programs should
always be free. Customers should receive
something tangible for being a part of
your program. A simple, small keychain
with your store’s contact information
listed is perfect fo r this purpose. They’ll
see it and touch it every day, and that
makes it nearly impossible for them to
forget about your store.
FACEBOOK - If used correctly,
Facebook can be a fantastic tool.
Facebook is a place where most, if not
all of your customers tend to be on a
daily basis. Use that to your advantage
by posting updates, recommendations, and
reminders for upcoming events. You could
also give a book away once a week, but only
to followers of your Facebook page. Post the
winner each Friday morning and promote
these winners in your eNewsletter. This will
increase awareness of a particular book and
attract and excite your Facebook fans and
eNewsletter recipients.
LOCAL MEDIA - Send a copy of your flyers,
bookmarks, catalogs, along with a press release,
to local media outlets (newspapers, magazines,
websites, and those local event calendars and
bulletins) at least a week––maybe two or three
weeks––before any special event you plan to
host at your store. And remember to pop these
same materials in the shopping bags of all your
customers as they check out in the weeks and
days leading up to an event.
COUPONS - Love them or hate them,
coupons can play a significant role in the
success of any retail establishment. A well-
played coupon can bring in dozens, if not
hundreds, of new customers. Most people
don’t like clipping, however, so make it easy
with a digital coupon you can scan directly
from their phone. Don’t forget to include an
expiration date. You may also want to add a
clause that the offer is subject to change,
anytime, without notice. This way you can
feel comfortable with making a big offer,
knowing that if you royally messed up, you
can modify the offer. But be warned,
promising something, then changing your
mind WILL severely anger people. So
carefully consider what we’ve talked about
when creating your coupons.
TOPSHELF MARKETING:
predesigned templates, as well as simple tools to
custom-make your own. You don’t need to
understand coding or be a designer. But if you
are those things, you can create anything
precisely the way you like it, making your
eNewsletter resemble the theme of your store.
In the world of marketing, it’s important to stay
consistent. Your website, social media pages,
emails, and blogs should all have the same look
and feel. Too many different looks and your
customers will get confused and eventually
request to be removed from mailing lists. It’s a
good idea to have trusted friends, and
customers receive “test” mailings, to ensure that
the eNewsletter looks good on different mobile
devices as well as laptops and desktops.
Act like your eNewsletter is a local paper by
including as many names and photos of local
customers and store visitors in each edition.
Highlight the best and most relevant reads.
Include a monthly calendar highlighting store
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TOPShelf magazine
APRIL2018 13