One of our clients, Dixondale Farms — the largest and oldest onion plant grower in the world — is in the fortuitous position of selling all the onion plants they grow. Our job is to provide stellar customer communications, with several goals in mind.
For one, by answering questions before they’re asked, Dixondale minimizes customer service costs.
In addition, by helping customers achieve successful results, Dixondale ensures that customers keep coming back. Indeed, Dixondale’s reorder rate is one of the highest I’ve ever seen.
Finally, their happy customers are true advocates. They spread the word on social media, and share catalogs and orders with friends. Their enthusiasm helps keep prospecting costs to a bare minimum.
Here are a few ways that we help Dixondale be proactive in their customer communications:
FAQs Answered Everywhere. From choosing the best varieties for specific geographic areas, to planting and care instructions, to disease prevention, to harvesting and storage — there’s a lot to know about growing onions.
Dixondale’s website covers these topics in multiple places. The home page features a video with Bruce “Onionman” Frasier explaining how to choose the best varieties for your geographic area. Other pages include a FAQ section, a downloadable planting guide, and a newsletter archive.
We publish a monthly newsletter that addresses the most commonly asked questions in depth. More how-to videos are posted on YouTube regularly. No matter where a gardener looks for information on growing onions, they’re likely to find Dixondale’s informative tips.
Helping Newbies Achieve Success. A few years ago, Dixondale noticed that an increasing percentage of their business was coming from first-time gardeners. They knew it was important to ensure these newbies were successful from the get-go. We completely rewrote the onion planting guide so it was jargon-free and foolproof for beginning gardeners.
By noting similar new trends, you can be proactive in your customer communications, a great way to stand out from the competition.
Communicate About Timely Events. It’s pretty common for Mother Nature to throw curve balls throughout the growing season. That often has implications for your customers, be it shipping delays, or the need to take preventative measures against fungal disease. If so, communicate with your customers! Facebook is one of the easiest ways to get this type of information out quickly. Email is another good option.
Cross-Fertilize Communications. To make it easy to stay in touch with your customers, regularly remind them of all the channels of communication you offer. Mention your newsletter on your Facebook page, and vice versa. Link to your YouTube videos or blog posts wherever you can. By providing useful information through multiple avenues, and regularly reminding customers of these resources, you’ll reduce your customer service calls and keep your customers happy at the same time.
