Build Customer Relationships for the Long Run Rather Than Milk Them in the Short Run

by Tom Ruwitch

The last time I purchased concert tickets through Ticketmaster, I paid $47 per seat...plus $16.25 per seat in additional fees.

Yep, I said $16.25 in fees on a $47 ticket.

That’s a 35 percent up-charge…

...or as I like to call it, “35 reasons I hate Ticketmaster.”

Compare that to Bill Graham. He was the San Francisco-area legend who produced rock concerts from the 60s through the early 90s.

He charged fair prices, and he didn’t tack on outrageous fees.

Marketing expert Seth Godin once asked Graham why he didn’t charge more. Graham was producing shows for huge acts who always sold out: the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen, among others.

He could have easily doubled prices.

“Well, I could do that,” Graham said. “But the thing is, I’m here all year round, and my kids only have a limited budget to spend on concerts. If I charged that much for one concert, they wouldn’t be able to come to the other shows I book.”

Did you catch that? He’s here “all year round”!

So are you. So’s your business. You’re in it all year round, for the long run.
Your business will thrive if you take the long view, if you concern yourself not just with today’s transaction but also with building a long-term relationship with customers.

I recently shared the Bill Graham story with one of my customers, a commercial real estate broker who uses our software to send emails to prospects.

He sends every email to every subscriber every time. Some emails are about industrial properties on the West Coast. Other emails are about commercial office space on the East Coast.

“Are some of your prospects interested only in industrial properties versus office space?” I asked.

Yes.

“Are some prospects interested only in West Coast versus East Coast?” I asked.

Yes.

“Do you know who’s who?” I asked.

“Sometimes,” he said.

My advice: Try to segment your list and send industrial promotions to those who want industrial properties and office promotions to those who want office space. Send the West Coast properties to the West Coast people and the East Coast properties to the East Coast people. If you don’t know who’s who, work to discover that.

His response: But if I send the email to everyone, I know I’ll get it in front of all the people who might be interested.

That’s the short view, the Ticketmaster view, the “milk as much as I can from this transaction” view.

When you send everything to everyone every time, you annoy those who find your content irrelevant. If I want office space, I don’t want an email about industrial. If I want property on the West Coast, I don’t want an email about the East Coast.

Sure, segmenting and targeting takes a little effort and a little more time. Sure, a smaller segment seems less valuable than a larger list.

But this is about quality over quantity. This is about the long run, not the short run.

When you send everything to everyone every time, you risk alienating your subscribers. Your open rates go down. Your opt-out rates go up.

And then your fans won’t be there to buy tickets for the other shows you book.

Tom Ruwitch is the president and founder of MarketVolt, an email marketing software and services agency. For more business-building marketing resources by Tom Ruwitch, visit MarketVolt’s website: https://marketvolt.com.