Shelly Looks Back: What's in a name?

In today's world of electronic mail, search engine optimizwhatits, and Google ads, sometimes we forget some of the simplest ways to earn customer loyalty.  So, what's in a name?  So much good will, that’s what’s in a name and I want to share with you how we used this back in my days in my DME store.

I had two young salespeople working with me, both were named “Ronnie,” so everyone addressed them as Ronnie girl or Ronnie boy. These two young people became very popular with our clientele. The smiles and cheerful greetings they had for each customer reflected so nicely showing that our company was a community service, not just another dealer.

They did everything possible to assist with every facet of the operation to build sales and maintain good relations. The “Ronnie’s” became local celebrities. Together they always found good ideas to help make new sales.

They created the best program so simple that any dealer can utilize it. They told me they wanted to send a birthday card to every customer. I said OK! It did not take them very long to start recording names and dates. We had most addresses and a few were found in the telephone directory. Hardly anyone refused to share their birthday.

But they went a step further. Rather than purchase birthday cards, my “Ronnie’s” designed a birthday card that was our exclusive greeting.  We bought them in bulk! As the list grew, so did our sales. Every year we prepared a different greeting card and our customers began to look forward to that.

One of our vendors suggested we include a discount slip when we mail these. But the “Ronnie’s” felt this would not reflect our company. They wanted good will and didn't need to pressure the follow up sale, that came naturally. 

Do you have a story of customer loyalty building?  Share it with me in the comments section below.