Because mavens are such great referral sources, your small business needs to build in mechanisms to help the maven pass on the good word about your services. A critical element in coaxing mavens to keep you on their short-list of companies worthwhile to do business with is to keep in contact with them. An email newsletter is a great vehicle for this. But dont dilute your Brand in the mavens mind by sending them junk emails; if they dont sign up for your newsletter, dont put them on your newsletter mailing list. Treat them with respect. Remember, they are really looking for value.

When your customer service or sales staff spot a maven, its imperative to keep in contact with that person. Letting a maven walk away without making a favorable impression is like letting a dozen sales walk out the door. Dont do it.

Below are some simple suggestions on what to include in a customer contact form. These are our suggestions; really just a launch pad for you to build upon for your small companys unique business needs. Make sure you involve Achievers in fine-tuning this form; solicit their input. Integrating staff into the creation of the form causes them to ponder the types of questions mavens ask and how to spot these people. Teach staff that mavens and tire-kickers may sound similar. Its almost impossible to know in advance which individual will actively tell their friends that your place is a great place to do business and can give them value.

A maven may seem like a tire-kicker; you might get a few false alarms. But once you start dialoguing with this type of individual, youll find they are intelligent and if they perceive you really give your customers a good deal then you should be able to win them over.

Remember, the best thing is to put the maven in contact with the owner or a senior sales person; but if you cant do that, then at a minimum please give them this form and encourage them to fill it out. Or, if they wish, let them fill it out right at the store.

You might even supply an envelope addressed back to your store, with the return postage already paid. We suggest you not skimp on costs here and use a postcard for this survey. Some people dont like their personal information going out in the postal mail for everybody to see.

OK, here are items to put on your customer contact form:

• Header: (Company Name) Contact Form
• We contact our customers via email with our monthly newsletter and with occasional special offers on __________________ or other interesting news
• We only contact customers with permission. We dont share your name with anybody else. You can tell us to stop sending you emails at anytime and we will
• Youll usually receive two (2) emails a month from us.
• Sign up is free.
• _____Yes, Id like to receive your monthly newsletter
• _____Yes, Id like to receive other news and offers Im especially interested in news on:
• Email address: _____
• First Name ____
• Last Name ___
• If youd like, please tell us a little about your shopping at our store
• How often do you stop by?
• _____ once a day
• _____ two to four times a week
• _____ once a week
• ______a couple times a month
• _____ other
• Thanks and we look forward to getting to know you better!

Of course, you dont need to limit distribution of this form to mavens, only! Once you build a newsletter or any other type of contact vehicle into your companys marketing Package, youll want to frequently keep your Brand in front of your customers and prospects.

2006 Marketing Hawks