One of the key ways that you can increase revenue is through customer retention – getting repeat customers! Businesses usually spend so much time trying to get new customers that they either forget about their existing customers or just don’t spend too much time focusing on their needs.
If you think about it… your customer has ALREADY tried your product – who will be easier to persuade to purchase from you again? Someone who has never tried your product or someone who already has?
When I first started my small business journey, I was so focused on getting more ‘new’ people to buy – but as soon as I switched focus to people who’ve already purchased from me, I saw an increase in loyalty and also referrals. So, people who’ve purchased from my shop were buying more often but also referring people. I started seeing reviews such as “so glad my friend suggested this shop!”
Hence, technically, you do end up getting ‘new’ customers too, but through your repeat customers.
Remember, there’s a reason why they call it a loyal customer base. It’s not about just having a sale complete and just ‘ringing the bell’ – nurturing is important to sustain and create a long-term relationship with the customer. So… how can you build a loyal customer base? How can you get repeat customers? How can you increase your revenue? Let’s talk about a few ways…
1 – Focus On Customer Needs
Customers love a good experience! Think for a moment – if I show you a picture with a lot of colorful flowers, are you able to imagine or maybe even smell it? When you see those pizza ads, does your mouth water (especially when you’re hungry!)?
This is what makes people “feel” something and actually perhaps even do something about it. When your customers have already purchased from you before, you already know that they are or were at some point interested in the product – hence, the purchase!
So, how can you trigger that emotion again? How can you re-create that experience for them? Send an email out about the product. Send email out about your story. Talk about your products!
Let’s say you sell home decor items, one way that you’ll trigger their emotion is by referring a product similar to what they’ve already purchased. If they purchased a vase, suggest an artificial plant, if it was a book – suggest book stand, if it was a coffee table, suggest some coasters!
You can do this type of marketing either a few days after purchase, you can also create an post-purchase marketing technique by having it setup on your website or email by suggesting a similar product that they ‘may like’ or having an offer in place such as “You might like ____. We’ll give you X% OFF!”. Remember I mentioned referrals? You can also have them refer someone saying “You think your friends might like it too? Refer someone and earn X% off your next purchase” Make this an extremely attractive offer.
2 – Tell A Story
They’ve already purchased from you. They’ve seen your product. But, do they know you enough? Do they know the impact of buying from you? Do they know that their purchase made you do a happy dance? 🙂 Tell them!
Research shows that storytelling is a great way of getting people’s attention. People love to know if their purchase have made some sort of impact. Best part – they’ll remember you!
Your story is what makes you unique and that’s what will help you grow closer to your customers and create a customer loyal base of repeat customers. Think about how can you mark your mark!
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell.” – Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur
3 – Exceptional Customer Experience
When it comes to great businesses, “good enough” is not enough! There’s so many people selling same things that you are, there’s so many businesses that are planning to or opening up right now as you are reading this. How can you compete? How do you stand out? The only way you are getting repeat customers or increasing your revenue each year, is by providing an exceptional customer experience.
I mean, yeah, not everyone is going to be pleased… you can’t impress everyone… but the better experience and more value you provide to your customers, the more they will spend on your business and the more your revenue will grow. So, how do you do that?
Below are simple things that people miss out on:
Great customer service
This does not mean that you’d have to be available 24/7 but that you’re not taking 2-3 days to respond.
You want to make sure that you empathize with your customers rather than sympathizing – feel their pain and they’ll appreciate you!
Answer their questions, go above and beyond where you can and give them your full attention.
A lot of times customer ask businesses a question and are sent in a loop of having to repeat their questions because the business would keep assigning different agent for each answer – guess what this does? It causes frustration and they would rather take their business elsewhere than think about going through all that trouble again.
Value
You’ve probably heard the term “value for money”. Do they feel ripped off after their purchase or do they end up reviewing “So glad I found this shop!”?
Personalized Experience
Do you know your customers by their name? (Well, at least hopefully your email software does?) How about their birthdays? Their hobbies? When you send your customer’s personalized marketing emails that are based on their interests, they are instantly more interested.
A business whose target market is fathers’ – and sends occasional dad jokes every once in a while – will keep those dads coming back for more or better yet, engage with the business or perhaps even share the jokes with their friends and family!
Maybe it’s their 1 year anniversary in your shop and you can thank them for their love by giving a coupon created especially for them?
Overall, remember, your customers are your heroes and your product is theirs! If you want to have your customers keep coming back then you’ll need to keep them engaged as well.
4 – Create A Loyalty Program
A great way of giving your customers a reason to come back is through having a loyalty program which lets them earn rewards.
You can create a program that gives them points for every purchase they make that they can use for future purchases and/or award points or money for each person they refer. This way you are having them back but also bring someone along!
Easiest way of doing this is through your website with a program such as Referral Candy which easily integrates with websites like Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, etc. and is great for small businesses that are just starting out. You can simply try their program for 30 days for FREE and see if it works for you as you monitor the program’s performance.
It is known to increase sales by over 30%!!! Best part, you can see your traffic in your Google Analytics dashboard, you can use and retarget your leads through Google or Facebook ads and they also have a newsletter tool inbuilt to allow your customers to share referral links within your newsletters.
5 – Don’t Forget To Get Their Emails!
Lastly, but really perhaps the first thing you need to do, is to make sure that each time you have someone buying from you that you are collecting their emails! If not, you will not be able to communicate with them.
If you sell on Etsy, Amazon, or eBay, simply make sure that your website is visible everywhere or send a QR code along with your orders that they can use to perhaps get a discount in exchange of their email. Sellers on Etsy can also use integrated email marketing options for FREE to collect their customer’s emails.
This way you will always stay in touch with them! And, remember, to remain engaged! If you have new products, share with everyone… if you are moving business, have a funny story to share, reviews to share — anything that there is, make sure to communicate! Don’t leave your audience hanging or forget about you, if they keep seeing you, they’ll remember you!
Don’t Forget to Listen To Them
Lastly, don’t forget to actually listen to your customers. They’re more likely to come back if they feel heard. If something is bothering a lot of your customers then pay attention to it and fix it if possible.
Perhaps your packaging is not the best or you’re responding too late to their emails – pay attention to both good and bad reviews and understand where you can improve and how you can further enhance your customer’s experience!
Having a loyal customer base of repeat customers is rewarding and perhaps the best investment you can make for your business to continue to grow your business and increase your revenue, year after year.
