Marketing: Your best customers are the “Cream of the Crop”

By Allan Nation

Seth Godin in my favorite marketing book, The Purple Cow, said that for you, as a direct marketer, there are only four kinds of people in the world.

These are:

1. Prospects

2. Customers

3. Best Customers

4. Former Customers

Godin said that your best customers should be thought of as an entirely different category from your occasional customers.

I am an occasional customer of Kansas dairy grazier, Kenneth King.

I like that he feeds his Jersey cows absolutely no grain and is seasonal.

As a result, his butter is a beautiful natural golden color with an excellent flavor.

Carolyn and I buy a year’s supply of butter from him in the spring when the grass is at its peak of quality and the milk is CLA-rich.

As a customer, I receive frequent e-mail newsletters telling me about new things his family is doing on the farm and new products they have for sale.

They raise and sell pastured chickens, eggs, pastured pork and grassfed beef in addition to dairy products.

He tells me, and his other customers, how the grass is growing; how the family is doing; and in his last e-mail told us about his recent European vacation to Germany, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and England.

(Kenneth is a great advert for seasonal dairy production.)

I received an e-mail from him that instantly reminded me of Godin’s four customer segments and his comment about best customers.

It read:

“As a special thank-you to our customers who have purchased over $1000 in merchandise during the past calendar year, we have created the ‘Cream of the Crop’ club.

“These customers will receive advance notice of new products and services, and when products are running low.

“In addition, club members will receive other special rewards throughout the year.

“If you qualify for the club, you will be notified by e-mail.

“A BIG thank you to our loyal customers!”

And then he added this kicker.

“Would you like to be in the ‘Cream of the Crop’ next year?

“You know what to do.”

This was a very effective communication.

If you can make your best customers feel special, you can keep them and create the desire among occasional customers to “join the club.”

Kenneth just how much butter is a thousand dollars worth?

© by The Stockman Grass Farmer

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