The best guarantee to offer your direct mail buyer is one that hurts. You, that is. Like you, your potential buyer lives in a rip-off society where merchants sell shoddy products and vendors do not honour their promises.
In this kind of selling and buying climate, the best way to increase response rates and encourage repeat business is to offer a guarantee that hurts you but helps your customer. The more you have to lose, and the less your customer has to lose, the better off you both will be.
- Make your guarantee unconditional. Let customers know you will honour your guarantee for any reason.
- Offer a 100% money-back refund. Don’t charge a “re-stocking fee.” Don’t withhold the taxes. Give every penny back.
- Set the length of the guarantee at infinity. Offer a lifetime guarantee. Agree to take back the merchandise at any time.
Offering this kind of guarantee will hurt. You’ll be afraid of people taking advantage. And some will. You’ll be afraid of the pain to your bottom line, and rightly so.
But the beauty of offering an unconditional, lifetime, 100% money-back guarantee is that it helps you lose a few battles here and there but win the war. You’ll have to give some customers their money back once in a while and take back used merchandise that you cannot re-sell. You’ll lose some money. Maybe lose face a little. But you’ll keep your customer.
Remember, dissatisfied customers tell others. And satisfied customers tell others. A dissatisfied customer who returns your product and receives a 100% refund quickly turns into a satisfied customer of sorts.
So offer a guarantee that hurts you a lot. You’ll feel better for it.
© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the Author" message).
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About the author
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.
© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).
