Keeping Your Auction Calendar Full

• By: admin
• On: 06/15/2024 15:21:28
• In: Fundraising

Rachel Muir founded GirlStart, a non-profit organization that empowers girls in science, technology, engineering, and math, at 26. Muir's entrepreneurial spirit and marketing know-how have led her to help non-profits with fundraising – more than $10 million to date. Her enthusiasm, success, and knowledge have led to appearances on Oprah, the Today Show, and CNN. She offers numerous services now, including leading team-building exercises and board retreats. So, how can this dynamic go-getter benefit the auction industry? If retaining clients is essential, then she has plenty to offer.

“It's hard to keep clients, just like it's really hard for non-profits to keep their donors,” she said, adding that consumers today expect an exceptional customer experience, more so than ever before. “If it was easy, I wouldn't be talking about this topic.” Muir mentions statistic after statistic on consumer behavior that can translate to the auction industry, including that companies that focus on a positive customer experience boost their revenue by 80 percent.

A seemingly meager five percent increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25 to 95 percent.

“It costs a lot of money and it takes a lot of your time to go out there and get new customers,” she said. “You have to build trust and rapport. It is 10 to 20 times cheaper to keep an existing donor, and this is true in the for-profit world, too.”

Personalizing Relationships

One of the most substantial relationships an auctioneer can have with a client is one where the client becomes a brand advocate. Not only do they feel loyal to the auction company, but they also spread the word to others about the services they receive. “In good times,” Muir said, quoting a marketing executive from Belfor Franchise Group, “building customer loyalty can help you grow faster and more profitably. In tough times, it's the difference between surviving and going out of business.”

To that end, Muir poses the question: How often are you contacting and maintaining a relationship with your clients? If they're not reaching out to you to complain about something, does that mean they're happy with you? Great brands ask for feedback all the time.”

Outreach to an auctioneer's target audience could be as simple as going through a contact list and sending a card, email, or text message on specific dates, like birthdays, holidays, quarterly, or annually. The more you know about your clients, the more personal you can make that outreach. This speaks to the personalization that consumers value so highly.

Muir says that one of the big keys to retaining clients is proving to them that they are of value. Several tools are available to auctioneers to make this personalization process more manageable.

One such tool is Feltapp.com, which allows users to digitally create handwritten cards where a mobile device can be used to “write” with a finger or stylus on the mobile app, and the recipient gets a printed, handwritten card with a stamp. Users can upload photos or designs to use in the cards. “It's very inexpensive and very worth it,” she said.

Another option is punkpost.com, a custom card company that makes creating and sending thoughtful cards easy. “That's next-level attention to detail,” Muir said.

An even more straightforward way of connecting with the target audience is to use text messaging.

Muir offers some interesting stats to back this up, quoting from sources that the open rate on text messages is 98 percent; 95 percent of texts from businesses are read within three minutes, and text messages are eight times more likely to get a response than voicemail or email.

Muir says one tool auctioneers can use for more efficient texting is Textology (Textology.co), which utilizes proprietary technology that enables landline numbers to accept text messages. Furthermore, users can send texts via desktop computers.

Textology's automated features allow users to schedule messages in advance, and rather than sending them as a group message, they're sent as one-on-one correspondence. “(Texting) is the 21st-century version of a phone call,” she said.

Using Video in Email

Visuals are king in marketing. Video, for example, allows viewers to retain roughly 95 percent of the shared content compared to 10 percent of a text version of the same information. With so much of the auction experience being an in-person event, clients want to see what they're getting into, which is why using video email can be an integral part of the process, whether the message is meant for non-profit board members who need motivation to start fundraising or if it's to make a good impression on a potential new client.

“I'm a big fan of video email,” Muir said. It is a very inexpensive and great tool. Like you, I'm in a business where if you're going to hire me to come speak to your non-profit, you want to see me, hear me, and try out the goods. This is a really great way to put you in front of people—to put your face in front of them.”

Muir recommends two video email services, BombBomb and Bonjoro, each offering free trial periods, and they work with Gmail and Outlook.

“What I love about this is it lets you cut through the noise and your prospects' extremely busy inbox. It's extremely personal and lets you get your foot in the door with someone.”

From building relationships, following up with clients, personalizing content, collecting feedback, and continuously focusing on the client/ customer experience, auctioneers have a far better chance of reaching their client retention goals.