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I often bang on about engaging with customers and making sure your content serves to keep customers engaged. At the week-end I was treated to a perfect example of the right sort of content, with me as customer.

We’ve been customers at home of the Riverford organic box scheme since it reached our area. Going on for two and a bit years, I think. Indeed, before ordering my first box, I had actually looked into purchasing the local franchise but Chris and Katie Ridgers got there first - damn them! - and they have been doing a great job for Riverford ever since.

Inside every weekly box comes a small leaflet that contains a list of what you’ve got in your box, what’s inside the other box options (a clever ploy that actually led me to change my type of box some months ago), a recipe, and a short ‘report’ from Riverford owner Guy Watson about the farm, his suppliers, regulations etc. Anything that Riverford customers are likely to find interesting, in fact. I usually read his piece before I’ve even unpacked the box.
This week, Guy kept me as a Riverford customer. As simple as that. If the leaflet had not been there this week, I would have gone ahead and cancelled future deliveries. There were a number of reasons for this - none of them related to the quality of Riverford itself, by the way - and Guy managed to hit the target in his piece that made me feel he was aiming directly at me. He had convinced me by the end of his second paragraph. Then he slammed me to the floor with this:

By my reckoning, if you are hard-up, want to save the planet and love your food, staying in and cooking from a veg box is the smart thing to do.

Now this isn’t a post about the value of local, seasonal, and organic food - although I subscribe fully to those values - but about how a well-timed piece of honest content can win you new customers and, in this case, retain a long-term customer.

What have you added recently to your site, newsletter, or customer communication that could make the difference between letting a customer drift away and increasing his or her loyalty?

Tags: box scheme, Guy Watson, organic, Riveford