CLV stands for Customer Lifetime Value, and it's an acronym you should remember. Repeat business is preferable to many individual sales. Both put money in your pocket, but a customer that comes back and makes more purchases is worth far more in the long run.
There are multiple methods for turning one-time customers into loyal fans of your brand. One of my favorites is to add printed material to my packaging.
Why you should include a little light reading
A personalized message can take your sale from a convenient purchase to a full-on consumer/provider relationship, one that can be maintained for years to come — one that can be extremely profitable, too.
Adding a customized note makes a customer appreciate the effort you've put in to let them know you care, and it builds your brand recognition. Finally, the personal touch you give your merchandise allows you to offer customer-exclusive discounts that will encourage future business.
What to include
There are a number of printed materials you could possibly include with your packaging. Each has its advantages, but all serve the purpose of extending the hand of engagement to your customers. Here are a few of my favorite additions:
Flyers
With flyers you can advertise other offerings related to the purchase the customer has made. You can try to cross-sell or up-sell them on other inventory that can complement the products they've already bought.
Thank-you notes with a 20 percent discount
First you let them see your gratitude, and then you offer them a gratuity of 20 percent, which is the optimal discount you can offer. It meets the "just noticeable difference" threshold. That means the discount is just enough for customers to recognize a clear benefit.
Business cards
Business cards allow you to recruit your customers into being ambassadors for your brand. If anyone asks them about the product you've sold them, they can hand out your card. Just like magic, you've got a new sales lead.
Catalogs
Once a customer has seen how convenient, easy, and cost-effective buying from you can be, they may just want to peruse your other offerings. Cut to the chase and give them a look at the rest of your inventory.
How to include your printed material
This is where it gets tricky. Since you're drop shipping your materials, you'll need to convince your suppliers to include these prints with your packaging, because you'll never get the opportunity to handle the package yourself, unless you want to pay for shipping twice.
Certain suppliers will stubbornly refuse to do this. You can, however, develop a good relationship with certain suppliers, making them more willing to help you out.
First things first, though: You need to print your materials and get them to your friendly supplier. You can either do this yourself by using an online service such as Vistaprint, if you're looking for a cheap and fast fix. Or, you can visit a local printer for a better quality print. It's all about how much you want to spend.
Designing your printed materials
There are hundreds of resources online for you to use in order to design your own flyers. A quick Google search can put you in touch with professional printers that will customize printed materials for a nominal fee. Alternatively, you could hire a graphic designer to put something unique and original together.
If you'd like to go the latter route, here are a few spots that can help you in your quest.
1. Fiverr
Fiverr is a cheap resource where a lot of talented newcomers gather and perform simple tasks for just USD $5. There are some hidden gems on this website, but you have to pick carefully. There are also a ton of very inexperienced designers.
Upwork is a lot like Elance. There's a lot of cheap labor available, and a few diamonds in the rough. Unlike Elance, Upwork allows you to post as many jobs as you want for free, but it doesn't facilitate communication as well.
3. 99designs
At 99designs.com you can buy pre-made logos without contracting. It's affordable and easy. You can also submit what you're willing to pay, and people will send you ideas based on your bid. The downside is that you won't get to know your contractor, and the choices are so numerous it can be overwhelming.
If you're more of a do it yourself-er, there are a ton of free tools to help you with that as well:
4. Snapfish
Snapfish is easy to use and highly functional — it even has a mobile application. The only downside is the fee that you have to pay for printing from home. You can also pick your prints up from a shop.
5. Postermywall
Postermywall is a website where you can make and download simple posters for free and without registration. Unfortunately, the free downloads are not high-resolution prints, especially if printed in larger formats.
