How to Attract and Keep Repeat Customers
Customers are the bread and butter of any business. Without them, you will not have an income, so it makes sense to spend time and effort attracting and keeping them. However, this is often easier said than done, and if you get it wrong, the consequences could be rather serious.
Monitor Customer Engagement
There is plenty of technology available to help you measure customer engagement. For example, referral marketing software lets you measure refer-a-friend programs in place. Whatever you use, the crucial thing is to pay attention to the types of people who buy from you, and more importantly, what they do after the transaction has ended. By measuring who your customers are and what their buying habits are, you can better target them in future.
Provide Excellent Customer Service
Great customer service should be the foundation of your business. Without it, customers are unlikely to return. Customer service begins from the moment an order is placed. Make it easy for customers to contact you at all times. Provide a telephone contact number on your website and offer email and live-chat support options, too. You may not be able to provide support 24/7, but at least answer any queries within 24 hours.
Do not forget to answer questions and respond to complaints via social media. Modern shoppers are more likely to lodge a complaint via Twitter than they are to pick up the telephone. If you ignore complaints, they have a habit of spreading online, which is the last thing you need.
Ensure Employees Are On Board
You won’t be able to attract and maintain repeat customers if your employees are rude and unhelpful. Employees need to feel valued. If they don’t, they tend to cause problems.
Ensure your employees are well-trained and engaged in the workplace. Carry out regular staff appraisals so problems can be identified and addressed as quickly as possible. The better you treat your employees, the more loyal they will be. These people are your front-line customer support team, so treat them well.
Leverage Loyalty Rewards
Handing out free gifts to keep customers coming back is expensive. However, customers these days like to feel valued, so some type of loyalty reward is essential.
The most effective loyalty reward schemes are built around a customer’s previous purchase history and location. For example, if you sell pet products, you could offer a discount voucher to a customer who has previously bought dog food. A targeted money-off voucher code for the brand of dog food they buy could be enough to persuade them to make a repeat order.
Personalize Marketing
Personalized marketing is highly effective. Instead of sending out millions of generic emails to your customer contact database, use software analysis tools to divide your customers up into specific categories. That way you can send them marketing material that taps into their needs and wants. It is much better than wasting time sending out offers and newsletters about products they are unlikely to have an interest in.
Sell the Right Products
It is a crowded marketplace out there, so don’t make life any more difficult than it needs to be by selling the wrong products. This is not to say you can’t compete with the big brands. You can, but only if you offer the customer something he or she can’t get elsewhere. This could be great customer service, but equally it could also be a superior product knowledge or niche products unavailable anywhere else. Whatever you do, be the best.
Encourage Word of Mouth Recommendations
Don’t underestimate the value of word of mouth recommendations. Most people are more receptive to a personal recommendation from a trusted friend. Use this to your advantage. Offer existing customers a discount voucher or freebie if they introduce a new customer who then places an order. Obviously, you have to get everything right to score a recommendation, but it is a useful way of building your business.
Stay in Touch
A lot of businesses forget about their customers once the order has been completed. This is a mistake. Keeping in touch periodically ensures your brand stays in the customer’s mind, which is useful if they need your products or service again. So keep in touch via email or a periodic flyer through the post.
Repeat customers are very valuable, so treat them with respect and look after their needs at all times. It only takes one bad experience for a customer to lose trust and switch to a competitor. Don’t let this happen to you.
Guest Author: Carol Trehearn