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HI! I was just talking to my Demo today and I was wondeirng why SU! does not have a rewards program for customers. Do any of you (demos) reward your customers after so many $ in purchases?? For instance CM has special products that CMC's purchase as "gifts" to customers after purchasing so many $ in products. Just wondering if some of you do this on your own as a "customer loyalty" type program. My demo was asking my opinion on the topic and now I am asking yours to see if my answer was the same as yours!!
I think this is a great idea! I am not a demo but a very good customer, and having a rewards program would make us even more loyal to our demo. I know I love mine, but a little bit of appreciation is always welcome.
That's a great question. Stampin' Up does reward Hostesses every quarter with the Hostess Appreciate stamp set. We demos can't even order it. It's free with an accumulated workshop sales total of $400, during the quarter.
A lot of demos also host special parties or get togethers for hostesses and great customers. Since this is essentially our "own" business, each demo can offer great incentives to good customers like you, just depends on the demo.
I've just been a demo for a month now, but I'm sure that once I get the clientele, I'll do something special for my best customers. After all, I want to keep them.
This would be a wonderful idea!
I know when I placed an order for over $150 with a new demo I had met online it would have been nice if she had added something free to my order.
I definitely would have been a repeat customer.
My current demo gives lots of special offers and freebies....love the extras.
Keeps me loyal.
I have ordered consistently from my demo - she's out of state- because she always either gives me a little extra or free s/h, etc. This has kept me loyal to her and has made me give her my business over another more local demo I know. the local demo doesn't RETURN my calls or seek my business, even tho' she knows I order SU stuff! How dumb is that???
The little extras that I get are definately working to keep me ordering from my out-of-state demo. If SU! has a customer rewards system, that would be great too.
I love to reward my customers! It is half the fun. Some I know just reward the hostess for good parties. I think that yes the hostess should be rewarded but the actual customer deserves it too. This month I put a flyer like the one attached into the front of my catty binders so that the customers know what is the rewads for the month of July! (including from now in June though July) I decorated it with the Cuddle & Tickles set that is retiring July 15th using the Soft Subtles Ink Pads. I am due to have my second child in less than a month. So it really all depends on the demo because it is money out of our pocket to offer such things. I am one of those "hobby Demos" and don't really do this all for the business end of it. So I think it is great to be able to do ideas like the one you can read about in the attachment!
Keri, I love your flyer! Too cute! I have seen some demos who have a card with boxes around it and the boxes total $300. Everytime you make a purchase, you get that purchase amount punched/stamped. When you have a full card you can choose an ink pad or paper, etc. I like this idea and my case it for myself.
__________________ Melissa Wadkins (Mel)
Peace begins with a smile.
Member #3785
Thanks, they are really super cute to look at too! I had my little brother in town visiting and they went to town stamping the borders for me! It was great fun!
__________________ "Life is much too important to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde Proud to be a member of Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge DT! My BlogMy Gallery
I believe that Stampin' Up! *does* reward customers well. In January & February, there is Sell-A-Bration, and most months (except the retirement list months) have great incentives for customers. Like getting the numbers for free that go with the alphabets, and the buttons with the purchase of cardstock and certain sets. There have been several more, but they really don't jump out at me as much as those recent ones.
Also, the hostess benefits are terrific! Free stamps? I'm there! Actually, that's WHY I am here. I signed up to be a demo mainly because I could get a discount on what I was already buying, AND be able to be my own hostess and get MORE stuff! Not to mention all of the cool perks like pre-ordering sets, the SIA sets you can earn, the great publications they send monthly and quarterly, and everything else that SU! offers.
Demonstrators can definitely offer more out of their own profits. Many offer free shipping (that's 10% off of their 20% income, by the way), or a freebie with a certain $ amount purchase. Those are all their own deals, and they offer them for whatever reason because it is their business.
I agree that our customers are rewarded several times a year with different programs. I've been a demo for just 15 months and I started out with a Customer Appreciation Card. My customers get credit for each purchase and once they've spent $150, I always give them a coupon for 15% off their next order (tax and S/H is paid on the full amount). I had a special drawing for all my $150 customers last year in December and a drawing for all my hostesses. This year I even had a special on the retiring stamp sets.
In December this year, I'm going to have my first ever Appreciation Night for my hostesses and $150 customers and since December is always slow, I'll be giving discounts to them if they purchase.
I know a lot of demos that don't do anything at all and I think that is fine as well. I just did it starting out because I was scared I wouldn't do well. But in a year's time, I've been very happy with the business I have started. You do have to be careful though not to give away the farm. I do know that I have a lot of loyal customers.
I think the secret is doing what works best for you!
I agree with everyone who said SU *does* reward customers with the monthly specials, Sellabration, etc. I know I would LOVE to offer more discounts for my loyal customers but financially I'm not always able. Only earning 20% as our base commision is not a lot (especially compared to some home businesses) to be giving away a lot of free things. I have been a fairly successful demo for 4+ years now and have a great customer base and believe me, I love my customers who are loyal to me! I wish I could do more but have to remember I am in this to make a little extra money for the family budget too!
I also agree that SU offers good customer/hostess rewards - I was mainly wondering what others do to keep their customers loyal to them. I know several demos in my local area and to be honest it is hard to stay with one when there is no incentive to do so. They all offer different types of workshops/camps etc. I was also wondering if any of you had ever asked SU for customer loyalty type goodies... for instance CM has the Memory Makers program that gives you a $25 value item and the CMC only pays a portion of that in order to give it to the customer after reaching a certain $ amount (think it is 250). There is a new item every quarter or so so that there is always something new to get. And it is an item that can not be purchased directly through the CMC. I am just trying to help out one of my demos who does not get online much and does not have any upline support. Thanks to all of you who have put in comments!
Again, I haven't been a demo that long and I've never asked SU why there can't be more. I do know, however, that as SU grows they are making changes and passing on cost savings to their demos. CM I believe is much larger so we can only hope as we grow and SU is making more money, then they can have additional incentives for customers and demos alike. As other stamp companies close up shop, I'm sure SU has to be very careful so they don't end up in the same predicament.
I give customers $10 off their next order each time they reach $200 in purchases (before tax and shipping). A customer who purchases over $100 with me gets a free catalog as well.
I also give my stampers club members a binder with all the inspiration sheets in it. I like that we have the flexibility to offer our customers the incentives we can afford. Unlike a lot of direct sales companies, we don't have to buy the hostess benefits that our company offers..the only thing we are obligated to give the hostess out of our own pockets is a catalog.
I love giving back to my customers, regardless of what Stampin' Up! is offering! I have my own reward program...I have a frequent stamper/scrapper card. This rewards my customers with $15 free merchandise after $150 worth of purchases. It is a $10 punch card and my customers love it! I also give every customer free project supplies and instructions with every order. My customers have told me they love opening their bags to find these goodies from me. I believe in giving back to my customers and not even the smallest of orders goes unnoticed.
__________________ Dawn
Stampin', Scrappin' and Sewin' in
Choctaw, OK
At my standard in home w/s Hostess receives all projects I demo, including any patterns, + goody pick, + Hostess Benefits + free IBC + mini catalog via snail.
Guests receive a goody pick for every $35 net ordered + 1 free make & take projectt + any patterns I used that night + free mini catalog.
Phone or email orders that hit $150 receive hostess benefits, which I believe are very generous, thru SU!
If I have a guest at a w/s that orders $100+ I give them the option of a free IBC as a thank you or 3 goody picks. If a w/s guest orders $200+, I usually present them with the IBC there, and privately/later with a small 4 pc. stamp set from an assortment I have on hand.
I try to provide great customer service, awesome ideas, and inspired instruction at each and every workshop or class. I think my customers really appreciate that more than anything else and they recognize how hard I work do put on a GREAT show each time?
I must admit, with only a 20% instant income, it is VERY easy to operate at a break even level or to go in the red, which is not good business sense even if you're only a hobby demo'r--and in my first 2 years, I did exactly that . . . it was a very difficult lesson to learn. . .
I am not an aggressive recruiter and I live on an island. There are limits to how many demo'rs the island could handle. So, I have to be extremely careful, as it is my desire to operate a successful and profitable business, in addition to making genuine friends along the way!
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
I have the small incentive stamps, packs of 5 small notecards w/ envies, lengths of the various SU! ribbons/cords--coiled and inside a small cello bag.
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
Julie,
I am trying to decide whether or not to be a SU demo and wondering about how to be good to my customers without loosing money. All this information you all are posting is a great help.
Cathy
One thing I was told which I now believe makes a lot of sense is NOT to buy the incentive stamps we have since they are on a supply order. Instead, buy sets of stamps that can be broken up and that way you are getting commission on your order, plus you can write it off as a business expense.
As a new demo I hadn't gotten into the 'groove' of offering specials, etc. but since then I'm continuously offering this special or that special and many are happy with those. I tend to send out a little 'thank you' to those that are my repeat customers and since many of them are online customers (gals I met thru forums, etc.) I communicate via email [and my monthly newsletter] many times, even if just to let them know how things are going SU or otherwise. My monthly newsletter is short and sweet, consisting mainly of up and coming specials, the latest SU news (because some just don't make it to the SU site. I know I didn't before I became a demo), and tidbits of this n that, so that is another way I keep my customers 'in the know' and up to date on on-going specials.
When I first became a demo I did have one customer who was very nice and essentially bought enough to be her own workshop lol but I haven't heard a word from her since...now that I think about it maybe it's because I didn't offer a 'reward' for her spending so much? Hmm...not that I had anything to offer as a new demo in my first month anyway! LOL Ahh well..we live and learn right.
Now that I'm a little more 'schooled' with this business I tend to offer to my customers what my discount is so essentially I don't make anything. I'm still learning and hopefully in time I'll be able to offer more but in the meantime I think my customer base are content with the specials I offer....at least I'm hoping they are! LOL
Thanks to all of you who offered their help. I appreciate all your advice and have shared it with my SU Demo. Hopefully she will have a better idea of what will benefit her and her customers better!
Have a great week!!!
Shelley
Rewards program
