50 marketing mistakes / Mistake #17
Mistake #17 of 50Don’t assume people remember you.
You think about your company every day. Your customer doesn’t.
What it costs you
They have their own lives.
You think about your business every day. When you wake up. In the shower. At 11 at night.
Your customer thinks about you when something breaks. Maybe.
They have a job, kids, bills and a long list of their own problems.
If you don’t remind them you exist, they won’t remember your name when it counts.
And when a friend asks, “Know anybody good?”, the name that comes up is the one they heard from last.
A real example
The house-iversary
A realtor sells someone a house. They might not buy another one for years.
So she does one simple thing. Every year, on the day her clients got the keys, she sends a card.
“Happy 3-year house-iversary, Mark and Jen! I still remember you two standing in the empty living room, trying to figure out where the couch would go.”
Tucked inside is something small. A packet of flower seeds for the yard.
No “thinking of selling?” No sales pitch at all. Some of her clients put the card on the refrigerator.
When a friend at work says, “Know a good realtor?”, whose name do you think comes up?
She didn’t ask for a single referral. She just made sure they never forgot her.
Why it happens
Why you think they’ll remember
You can’t be the name that comes up if they’ve forgotten it.
Do this instead
Remember them first.
The easiest way to be remembered is to remember them. Most of their big days come around every year, so you can plan for them months ahead.
| Their day | A way to show up |
|---|---|
| Their anniversary with you | “Five years ago today, you trusted us for the first time.” A card, and something nice. |
| Their birthday | A handwritten card. Maybe a small treat for a regular. |
| Their house or car anniversary | The house-iversary card. A “happy 1 year” card for the car you sold them. |
| Their business anniversary | A card, or a cake for the office on a big one. |
| A promotion or new job | A nice pen and a note: “Congratulations. You earned it.” |
| A new office or a move | A plant for the new space. |
Put every date on your calendar the day you hear it, repeating every year, with a reminder a week before. Keep the card about them. A birthday card with a coupon inside isn’t a birthday card. But make sure your name and number are right there, so when they need you, they don’t have to look.
Do this today
- 1
Pull up your 20 best customers.
- 2
Find the date each one became your customer.
- 3
Put every one of those dates on your calendar, repeating every year, with a reminder a week before.
- 4
Send a card this week to the first one coming up.
They won’t remember you on their own. Remember them, and they’ll call you.
From the book
Chapter 23: Celebrate Their Milestones, Not Yours
Starts on page 199. The whole chapter, plus 250+ ways to market your business, in the free book.
Download the free bookIdeas that fix it
Little things that keep your name around.
Idea 90 · book page 306Seed Packets$1–$3 eachGrows into a memory, and fits any 'growth' message.
Idea 141 · book page 332Holiday Ornaments$3–$12 eachBrought out every single year.
Idea 156 · book page 339Succulents & Plants$5–$15 eachA living reminder on the desk.
Idea 86 · book page 304Magnets$0.75–$2 eachOn the fridge right when the pipe bursts.
Idea 170 · book page 346Premium T-Shirts$8–$20 eachSoft shirts get worn on weekends, not just at work.Want a plan that keeps your name in front of them all year?
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