Look who's serving up some delicious food on Sunday, November 6, at the Doubletree Bedford Glen Hotel. Tickets are available at New England Nurseries,

Great Road Gallery & Framing and on line at www.flavorsofbedford.org.

Sora ~ Wegmans~ Whole Foods ~ Bonefish Grille~ Holi ~ Bedford Farms ~ Express Pizza ~ Comellas ~ Osteria Nino ~ Waxy OConnors ~  Versa de Punjab ~ Renaissance ~ Prince St. Cafe & Bakery ~ Red Heat Tavern ~ Besito ~ Lester's Roadside BBQ

                            

                                                Premier Sponsors 

Brown & Brown, PC

Please visit www.flavorsofbedford to view other sponsorship opportunities .  

 

• The higher cost to replace customers than to keep them,
• The true costs of the impact of a customer's negative event on your company's profit, (It is higher with Millennials)
• That if your company loses more than 5% of its customers annually, the quality of your customers' experience can be easily improved,
• The need for 24/7 self-service, (A must for Millennials)
• The need for employees to be "absolutely delightful everyday,"
• That customer complaints are hidden goldmines,
• The need for accurate assessment tools and metrics,
• The necessity to upgrade your "humanware" continuously,
• The low-hanging fruit of earned referrals and cross-sales into more business, etc.

   

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By Rhonda Abrams

1.  

Get your name out there. If ever there's a season and a reason to step up your marketing, it's the holidays. Make sure customers and prospects remember you. Reach them through your social media channels (go ahead and boost some of those posts), start sending out email newsletters to your mailing list, and take out ads in local newspapers (and yes, many shoppers still read newspapers - especially 'hyper-local' papers serving specific neighborhoods).

Plan in-store events during the entire holiday season, customers are looking for things to do (especially with kids). Plan events in your store or location. These don't have to be big parties, just something interesting or fun. Independent bookstores have been leveraging the season  to have in-store author events on the day and independent gyms have sponsored special free classes. Be creative!

3.

Create bundles. Solve your customers' gift shopping dilemmas by creating gift bundles (some pre-wrapped are great!). Select products by themes: "for him" "for her" "for your pet." Customers spend more when they find gifts conveniently wrapped together. Here's another advantage to bundles: they're not easily available from discounted online retailers, which help you make the sale. Bundles aren't just for retailers. Restaurants can pre-wrap gift cards with a menu or grocers can bundle a gift card with a shelf-stable food item.

4.

Get social - in person and on social media. It's a social season, so it's time to socialize, both in person and online. During the holidays, opportunities abound to meet new customers. Attend community, industry, and neighborhood holiday parties and bring lots of business cards. Now's the time to step up your social media activities and get in on the conversation around holiday shopping. Suggest cute or unique gifts or holiday survival tips. If customers have liked you on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, make sure you're busy posting throughout the holidays.

5. 

Remember existing customers. Want customers to remember you? Remember them:

6.

Turn holiday customers into regular customers. You worked hard to get someone to come to your physical or online location, so find ways to stay in touch with them year round. Look for ways to collect their contact information, especially email addresses and social media handles. You can do that through offering small gifts or discounts when they make a purchase. Ask for permission to add their names to your email newsletter and request they follow you on social media, so you can connect with them in the New Year to let them know of future sales, special events, and new products or services.

Goddard School Trunk or Treat

Board of Directors

Two New Members