I am not a stylish guy. My clothes aren’t fancy or expensive and I often go pretty long stretches without getting a haircut. When I finally do buckle down and get it cut, I go to the nearest, easiest, cheesiest, chain haircut place I can find. Luckily I live in the ‘burbs and I’m never really that far way from one. I usually end up at a Great Clips about a mile from my house.
So last week I finally went in and got a haircut. I was there in the mid-afternoon on a Monday so it wasn’t really crowded. If you have ever been to a place like this you know the first question they are going to ask you….what’s your phone number? It is always the same, you get a greeting – “Hello, welcome to Great Clips” and then “Can I have your phone number please?”
You see, these places collect your personal information and then use it to sort you from the rest of their customers – man, they are missing the boat here! It had to be 10 or 12 weeks since the last time I had gotten a haircut. I was sitting in the chair watching all my hair collect on the apron and floor and realized Great Clips was missing a golden opportunity.
A simple e-mail reminder, weeks earlier, probably would have gotten me in for a haircut. I might even appreciate their being helpful. They could easily move me from a 5 haircut a year guy to an 8 or 10 haircut a year guy. That’s double the business by sending a few simple e-mails!
I don’t understand why you would go through the process of collecting all my vital info – name, address, phone number, etc and NOT get my e-mail! Maybe they even have my e-mail, I don’t even remember. If that is the case they are really screwing up.
A simple helpful reminder. That is all it would take. Forget it if they actually used the wealth of info they have on me to offer other suggestions. A sample e-mail could go like this:
Hey Brian,
It’s been 6 weeks since you last stopped by to get a haircut. You might be getting a little shaggy right about now. The last time you were in Stephanie cut your hair with a number 4 razor, blended it and trimmed the top. Stephanie is working this Monday, would you like to make an appointment? Just click here or call and we will get you all set up.
Thanks for being such a great customer Brian, we appreciate it.
See You Soon,
Great Clips
p.s. – don’t forget to pick up some of our over-priced light hold styling gel while you are in
Would you book the appointment if you got this e-mail (minus the sarcastic p.s.)? I know I would…I am too lazy not to. They would have removed all barriers between me and a purchase. Nice and easy..that’s how I shop.
And an added bonus for them, there would be next to no chance of me going to a competitor. Even if I didn’t book the appointment from that e-mail I would feel compelled to go there when I was ready.
Sometimes we just need to open our eyes and see the things around us. GC has all this info and they are doing nothing with it. Shit like this makes the marketer in me get all fired up. If you are doing this with your business, please stop.
Take stock of the info you have on your customers and use it to help them make a purchase from you. If they were a customer once, it should be easier to get them to be a customer again. We need to wake up….Make it easy for THEM. Remove the barriers. Make their day.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great point! I never really thought about it but a litle piece of info can go a long way. Who the hell does GC have working for them that they havnt figured this out yet? I’m the same way & would definitely go in if I got a reminder & could easily book. Great post! Now I have to incorporate this into my own business.
Thanks Billy. Glad you liked it.