Articles

If you haven’t already picked up on the fact that I’m a huge Chick-fil-a fan... I am.  I’m not sure what they put in their food that has hooked me so bad, but I eat there multiple times each week.  This morning I ate a chicken, egg, and cheese biscuit with a large coffee from there. Man, it was delicious.

Two years ago my family and I moved closer to the Powersports Marketing facility. Jokingly, Brad Cannon, who writes the Digital Marketing article in this newsletter, asked me if I had given the owner of my local Chick-fil-a fair warning that his sales would be dropping because I was moving. 

This year, I was the first person to be invited by my current local Chick-fil-a to join the new A-List customer VIP program that Chick-fil-a rolled out. With it I get special perks, coupons, VIP only family events, etc. 

I do eat there a lot, but it’s not just the food that keeps me coming back. It’s their people. I’m always amazed at Chick-fil-a’s ability to find and keep good employees. I’ve never, at any Chick-fil-a, encountered someone who didn’t seem to care. They are careful to hire the right people, and they continually train them to get better.  

The staff seems to care about doing a good job. They quickly learn my name when I come in, they make my family feel welcome, so I continue to give them business.  

Chick-fil-a sends me direct mail and email on a regular basis, and because I am an enthusiast of their business I pay greater attention to their marketing. I get 2 to 4 emails each month, and 1 to 2 direct mail pieces. Sometimes they send more of each. This quantity is not too much because, as weird as it sounds, I’ve become a bit of an enthusiast. They’ve developed affinity with me, and could actually send me more marketing. 

My family and I also eat at Taco Bell from time to time, and it’s a different story. Is Taco Bell a bad restaurant? Not at all. I know what to expect with the food, and sometimes have a craving for it. I also know what to expect from the staff. It seems that in every Taco Bell I’ve visited there’s a feeling of apathy or indifference on behalf of the employees. I can’t think of a time I’ve received ‘bad’ customer service, they’re just indifferent and don’t care whether I come back or not. I’m just an order.

Taco Bell never sends me marketing. They sit back and wait, hoping at some point I’ll have the craving and visit again. 

Which of these 2 do you want to be?  I can promise you that building affinity with your buying base (past customers and riders in your market area who have never done business with you) will always lead to additional sales and profit. 

Building affinity starts with good marketing. You should be touching your buying base 52 to 104 times per year with direct mail, email, phone calls, and more. When you market to your buying base consistently they also become more loyal. In fact, I’ll rob a sentence from last month’s article: “Your customers are only as loyal to you as you are good at marketing to them!” 

So, the answer to the question at the top of the page is 52 to 104 times per year (which is once or twice each week) is ideal. There is a big caveat though… ONLY market when you have a good message. In other words, don’t just send an email because you’re supposed to. Have something to say.

That’s where our Sharp Shooter program comes in. It’s a Done-For-You solution that includes multiple touches to your buying base. They respond with their name, email, phone number, and tell you what they are in the market for right now.  Pretty cool stuff.  Call 1-877-242-4472 for more info, or chat with us online at www.PowersportsMarketing.com.