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Hi there.

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It's Sue.

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And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.

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These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and

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things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.

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If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DME over on Instagram at gift biz,

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unwrapped, making a customer feel special is where it's at.

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Think about your experience from the customer end.

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Most of the time when you buy something in a retail

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shop, for sure,

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but also online.

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It's a one and done transaction.

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You make the purchase,

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get a thank you or a confirmation that the order has

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been received.

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And that's it no further communication.

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And if there is any,

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it's probably a bounce back discount to place another order.

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Now don't get me wrong.

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That additional discount is great,

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but it's very sterile and transaction oriented.

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There's no connection being formed between you and that business.

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Any sales after that are going to be initiated by you,

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the customer,

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if you feel so great about the product that you want

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more, or you remember that company name when it's time to

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buy a gift,

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think now of yourself as the business owner,

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if you're conducting business this way,

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that's leaving a lot up to chance.

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What if you could control this interaction in a better way?

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How about changing the sale from being solely a business transaction

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into a friendly,

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warm interaction that can lead down the road to a mutually

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supportive relationship.

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This is what you do when you make your customer the

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star. When you add an emotional layer to your customer interactions

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that make them feel seen special and important by prompting these

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feelings, your customers will move from purchasers to supporters.

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And this leads to long-term growth for your business.

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Here are things that you can start doing today to create

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this type of relationship.

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It goes without saying that when someone purchases online,

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your checkout system provides a receipt and a confirmation of the

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order in store,

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you print out the receipt,

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add it to the bag and thank them for the purchase.

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This is nine times out of 10,

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where the relationship ends.

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You get your order in the mail,

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or you walk out of the shop and done.

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This is a critical juncture.

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When taking action here allows for any of these other relationship

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building activities to happen.

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It's where you get their email address.

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Let me say this again.

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It's where you get their email address.

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Whether you automatically have access to it because of their online

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order, or you need to capture it in another way,

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ask for that address,

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then separate from the standard receipt,

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send them a personal,

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thank you.

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Note by email,

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obviously showing your appreciation for their order.

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Write it as if you're writing to a friend.

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I know there are lots of makers who put handmade.

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Thank you notes inside their shipped boxes.

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This is another spin on the idea.

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The point here is it's personal and one-on-one,

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this can also be an automated email triggered by a first

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purchase tag,

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but make the wording individualized.

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And with the intent of them feeling appreciated and recognized as

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being a new customer.

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Next comes a check-in within the next couple of days after

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product receipt,

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you may have separate timing here for delivery of your emails.

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If someone has purchased in-person versus online,

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this would allow and take into account timing of delivery.

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It's a followup of sorts to see how they like their

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product. Do they have any questions on how to use it,

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store it or wear it?

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The nature of your question,

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of course,

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depends on your product.

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Here's an important point.

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Don't ask for anything in this email that feels manipulative and

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self-serving, you can have your social buttons displayed in the email,

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even a link if they'd like to leave a review,

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but I'd wait to specifically ask for an action a little

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bit down the road.

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In this email,

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you can share something about you and your business,

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oh, behind the scenes peek,

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but short and sweet.

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All this leads into an entire email campaign,

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which I won't get into.

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Now, we have other episodes for that,

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but I want to demonstrate here is how to get the

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ball rolling for a personal relationship that leads to your customer

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feeling important.

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Again, not just like another transaction as your email,

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communication continues,

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positioning and wording is important.

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Lots of people send out emails,

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as you surely know.

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I mean,

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you get them all the time or they get lost in

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that Gmail promotions folder.

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What I want you to start communicating in your emails is

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that by being on your special customer list,

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they are in a select group.

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They have early notice or special access to things that other

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prospects don't get for you to be able to do this.

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You'll want to have your email list separated into two categories,

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one for customers and one for prospects.

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And of course,

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we're speaking specifically to your customers here.

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Those who have taken that very important next step and purchased

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from this is a huge action.

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And the one we're always looking for,

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right, to get people to buy.

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So when they do,

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they should move into a favored category and you should treat

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them with a higher level of care.

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But you have to tell them that they've achieved this status.

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How else will they know the majority of businesses treat their

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email list as one big group of names that makes messaging

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bland and your ability to deliver a feeling of being important

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and special as a result of their supporting you and your

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business is impossible because everybody is thrown together in this one

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big list.

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So separate your list out into customers and prospects.

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You can do this in pretty much every email service provider

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these days.

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Now, the next thing is for them to recognize that they've

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been elevated into a deeper relationship with you,

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that includes special perks.

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And to do this,

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you need to share with them the fact that first off

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there is this special group and they're in it.

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And then every time you do something,

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just for them,

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remind them that they get it first,

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or they have exclusivity or whatever the case might be.

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So you might be asking,

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what are the things you offer that make them special?

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Here are some ideas.

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A first look at new collections.

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First dibs at limited quantity products.

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Let them be the ones who vote on the next flavor,

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color or design.

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You create call upon them to post pictures using your product.

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And when they do,

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they're entered into a special customer,

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only raffle send special greetings over the holidays for those loyal

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supporters of your brand.

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I'm sure you can think of a million different ways that

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you can reward your customers.

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You may even take your top 20 customers of the year

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and do something super extra for them taking it up.

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Another notch,

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get to know your customers personally,

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who else runs a business.

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Is there a way you can shout out and support their

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business too?

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What about collaborations?

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You may find a home for your very first wholesale account

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or create a joint product that you both sell for Valentine's

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day or mother's day.

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Or you can do a live show on social and expand

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your following by being exposed to the other person's audience and

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vice versa.

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There is so much opportunity that awaits when you treat your

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customer as a star,

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and to think all of this is possible and starts right

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at the beginning,

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by ensuring a transition past the transactional first sale.

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This is done by creating a connection with an email and

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building on that relationship.

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From there,

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things that you can't even imagine right now are possible.

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After that,

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that's a wrap.

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Guess what?

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Today's my birthday.

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I love celebrations of all kinds,

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including my special day.

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You know what you could do to help me celebrate.

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If you've gotten value out of this show,

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please go over and leave a rating and review that helps

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me spread the word so that the show can be seen

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by more makers.

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And I can only do this with your help.

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It would be a great birthday gift to me.

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Thanks. I'm a get to the point kind of girl.

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And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream

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of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them,

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and they bring us both so much happiness.