How to double your online community results (mostly)

Do you want an almost guaranteed way to increase sales or results, sometimes as much as 100%? (No, you don’t have to sign up for my life changing seminars and a set of DVDs!)

I’ve just picked up an invaluable marketing technique that is almost too simple.

Here it is: Ask twice.

That’s it?

Yep. Ask twice.

The first time I came across the idea was in my local coffee shop. I ordered and drank my coffee. The waitress took the empty cup and asked if I wanted another. I’m a greedy pig so when someone asks, do I want more, I usually say yes without thinking. Boom. They’ve double their sales … with me anyway.

LinkedIn do it to good effect too. When a request to link arrives and is ignored, Linkedin don’t get upset. They just send a reminder a week later, then a month later then six months later. I’ve had acceptances from people that I’m pretty sure I originally requested years ago.

So I started doing it myself. I often send out emails to past clients suggesting we work together on some new idea or other. The first email often gets lost in all the other stuff going on in their lives.

With my last burst I followed up a week later with a second very brief email:
Hi Suzy, Any interest in this idea?

From the second email I got a big increase in replies. Some turned into jobs. Others allowed us to exchange pleasantries. Either option was a plus.

So, if you stay in touch with your consumers through FaceBook, email or direct mail, remember to always ask twice. Even above the line advertising can be more effective if the ‘call to action’ becomes the ‘2 calls to action’.

I guarantee you will get a better response than just asking once … unless you sell really really awful coffee.

TIPS FOR MARKETERS
- Many people might like your initial offer but just don’t get around to acting on it. A second request often nudges them into action.