For business owners, managers of Marketing, Sales and service areas, the month of September has been consolidated in recent years in Brazil as the month of the customer, largely depending on the day of the customer.
If you are one of these actors, understanding some associated aspects is essential to take advantage of the occasion.
Therefore, in today’s post we will talk more about the date, the difference for the “Consumer’s Day” and the actions that can and should be carried out.
What is the Customer’s Day and when is it celebrated?
Conceived by the entrepreneur and professional in the areas of Human Resources and Marketing, João Carlos Rego, who chose the 15th of September to honor the customer, as it is historically a month of low retail sales, it was celebrated for the first time in 2003.
Since then, it has been gaining strength and is on the way to being part of the annual calendar of special dates for commerce, since there are already dozens of municipalities that have established the day as official customer celebration date.
In some regions, it is already becoming a tradition to carry out the most diverse campaigns with the customer as a backdrop, not only in retail, but also in other segments.
What is the client’s month?
The success and adherence of those who embraced the idea in previous years, expanded the range of actions and which not rarely take place throughout the month of September and for this reason, it has been considered the month of the client.
Thus, instead of being restricted to only on the 15th, there are companies that use the whole month with Marketing and Sales campaigns.
Also because the date occurs exactly in the middle of a 30-day month, it was noticed that this could enhance actions valid for the two fortnights, as well as extend the effects, as has occurred on other traditional dates, such as Black Friday and that in practice, it has also been observed that companies have not restricted their promotions to just one day s.
But there are still those who prefer to emphasize only the week in which the 15th of September falls, the so-called client week.
The focus on day, week or month of the client, will vary depending on the strategies that each company plans.
What is the difference between “customer day” and “consumer day”?
In addition to the difference in dates, since the Consumer’s Day is celebrated on March 15, there are other aspects that differentiate them:
- The 15th of September is a “national” date. In relation to “consumer day”, many countries are used to celebrating it, including being often referred to as “World Consumer Day”;
- It was first celebrated in 1983 in the USA, but its origin dates back to March 15, 1962, in function of a speech by then President John F. Kennedy, in which defended the creation of basic consumer rights, the power of choice, their security in the usufruct of products and services and that it was necessary to give them a voice;
- The principles and rights defended by Kennedy serve more often to direct actions and campaigns than the simple trade of products and services;
- Brazil started to be part of the global movement to adopt the date, only in 2014;
- Strictly speaking, customer and consumer are not the same thing.
What is the difference between customer and consumer ?
Although it is not uncommon to be treated as synonyms, customer and consumer technically play different roles.
If you sell athletic shoes, consumers are all who buy them , regardless of whether they consume your brand’s products. On the other hand, those who have already purchased, and especially those who do so frequently, are what you can call customers.
If you prefer, a consumer is someone who consumes a certain product, but is only called customer, when it does you.
Therefore, every customer is also a customer, but not every customer is a customer. Subtle, but important difference!
What to do on the client’s day?
As in any other trade dates, the decision of what to do passes and it depends on factors such as resources, creativity, objectives and even knowledge.
But even smaller companies and theoretically with more limitations in terms of actions due to scarcity of resources, do not need to give up reaping the rewards.
1. Communication
What few people propose is to include greetings to the client, as is done with mothers and fathers on their respective days.
In other words, the “Happy Customer Day” and its variations must be included in all forms of communication with your customers. In face-to-face and phone calls, on WhatsApp or other social networks.
Create arts for social networks, such as a virtual / digital card, as well as to appear on the home page or landing page that receives customers from the newsletter or e-mail Marketing. Even if you send one, it must be included in it too!
After all, although the date is initially intended to boost sales in a not very favorable month, creating the corresponding climate gives it more legitimate meaning .
two. Relationship
The subtle but important difference between customers and consumers is that in the case of the former there is a good chance that you have one – or several – channels of contact, as well as information about them .
Whether because they buy on your e-commerce site, or because they are on your Whats, whether on social networks, or who knows, they have already filled out a form on the site for any reason, or even installed an app, if you have one and make one available.
Strengthening the contact and personalizing it even more, through relationship actions, can favor engagement and eventual campaigns, such as one of indications that entitle you to exclusive discounts or coupons for a raffle on the 15th.
In other words, use the date as a justification to intensify the relationship.
3. Loyalty
Promote loyalty and that is the aspect that most characterizes the customer and keeps him away from being a mere consumer.
The customer’s month is one of the most opportune moments to boost a loyalty program and that does not need to be as sophisticated as that of large companies.
Even a small homemade cake factory or a pastel stall at a fair can format a using cards similar to business cards, which on the back receive stamps to win a cake or a pastel with every X purchases.
The customer, in addition to the other reasons why he feels encouraged to buy from you will see more concrete advantages of being faithful.
4. Sweepstakes
Prize raffles should not only be the possibility of winning something relevant and desirable because we bought something, but must be proportional, that is, the more you buy, the more if you have a chance of winning.
If conducted properly, it is a good way to stimulate up selling and/or cross selling.
How?
The more products you buy, the more numbers or coupons you have to compete for the draw.
You can link them to quantities of items, specific products or ranges of values and which in the end results in an increase in the average ticket.
5. Prices
Among everything that is done on dates like this, there is no way to leave out discounts, promotions and sales, but they need to be real and not those of the “ half double”, after all, who is a customer, knows the price you usually charge.
Besides, doing a price survey is something that rare people don’t do and it doesn’t take more than a few seconds.
If the price drop is not real, the customer will know and feel cheated and the result is worse than no promotion at all.
Also consider other factors:
- Term or duration – a promotion in which discounts are granted throughout the month, give the feeling that if the company can practice them for so long, why not do it all year round? Big promotions should only focus on the 15th and should give the feeling of a unique opportunity;
- Products – don’t just use the “stranded” products, the out-of-stocks, the unnumbered, the most expensive, the obsolete ones, that is, the products you want to get rid of. Few customers will benefit and the result does not produce satisfaction in a good number of customers;
- Conditions – do not create difficulties, such as establishing many conditions for giving discounts, or excluding products on sale from being eligible to participate in the draw, for example. Being difficult to benefit creates frustration and disappointment in the customer. Remember that your role is to recognize and thank him for being your customer;
- Communication – the information related to promotions, their validity, eligibility and everything that is relevant for every customer to be able to participate, must be clear, direct and easily accessible. Thus, labels, posters, banners, information on the website or in any digital media, cannot give rise to doubts or be imperceptible.
Finally, the price that the customer will pay must be his gift and his recognition for giving your company the chance to serve him!
Conclusion
Customer’s day is a day to celebrate their existence and their loyalty to the company, being an opportunity to improve relationships and do more business.
