We should all be collecting email addresses, I hope you all are. Redesign your database form if you have to, to include an email address field. Make sure you ask for it when filling it in for a new customer. Ask for it when you have an existing customer on the phone and the form is up in front of you. And while you're at it, get their cell phone numbers. It is hard to get in the habit of collecting these. I still forget and I've been getting them for almost 20 years now. Email is a great way to communicate with your customers, it's free and it doesn't interrupt your customer's life like a phone call. They can read it and respond at their leisure. Using a mail merge program it is super easy to send monthly reminders. My active customers get a reminder every three months, inactive ones get one once a year. Get with the 90s, err, 21st century. Electronic messaging is increasingly the preferred method of communication. I not only email, but I also sometimes use texting with the cell numbers I collect. For example, I'll text if there is a schedule problem and I'm having trouble reaching them by phone, or to let them know when I'm 15 minutes away. But you've got to have the cell phone number first to be able to do this. Dean Ask them for an email address. You may be able to write an email that will automatically send the day before. If your email program won't do that, then write out the email, save it to drafts, set a reminder on your calendar, then send it from the drafts. Sending an email is easy. Dean That's a great idea, that will be easier to do. Most people read their e-mail at least once a day, even when they are on the mainland. Thanks, Dean Wim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110201/5ae5bad9/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC