Quick Anti-Marketing tip:
Break up with toxic customers.
You know those people who keep emailing you complaining about shit?
Delete them. Don’t waste your time catering to their dysfunctional needs.
Yes, I know, this flies in the face of traditional business advice that says “The customer is always right.”
No, they’re not always right for YOU!
Here’s a quick 2-minute video I made on this topic:
If you’re not sure whether to delete someone or give them another free pass to bitch at you (or take up your time with repeat problems), you can look at their “Complaints to Amount Purchased” ratio.
How many times have they complained since entering your database?
How much money have they paid you in their tenure as a customer? Repeat orders are a sign that they value your product.
If the number of complaints is low, and the amount purchased is high, they’re probably good to keep around. They’ve demonstrated that they have a high level of personal responsibility for the choices they make (and aren’t out to blame anyone, including you). Plus, they’ve demonstrated that they’re a “right fit” customer for your business.
If the number of complaints is high, and the amount purchased is low, you’re probably better off deleting that person from your database.
Those people most likely have a problem with everything. They’re probably doing the same exact shit to other companies… leaving BS negative reviews, complaining, and taking no responsibility for their experience.
Block them from contacting you, and ordering from you. Your time is better spent serving higher value customers.
(And the last option: If someone is complaining and they haven’t ordered ANYTHING from you…wtf?! Mail those people a soft-covered diary and a binky, then delete them.)
I was laughing recently because a client of mine said he deleted 100,000 people off his email list who were “dead weight.”
I love that! Way to take a stand!
(That action would be unfathomable to the average people-pleaser.)
Clearing out the clutter makes space for something new and better to show up.
It’s the equivalent of pruning a garden and eliminating the weeds, so they don’t choke out all the valuable plants.
Besides, who the hell wants to serve a bunch of complainers? Let them bother someone else.
Michelle
Anti-Marketing Manifesto
P.S. I do the same thing with my list and my clients. Every year or so, I scroll through my subscribers and see who’s opening emails, and who’s not. I delete those who aren’t responsive. I stopped working with clients who brought drama or made excuses. This has helped keep the “energy” of my list fresh, and it ensures that I’m not wasting my substance on anyone who doesn’t value it! (If someone is too lazy to hit the ‘unsubscribe’ button on a list they don’t even want to be on… wow.)
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 