It's been proven. It costs less to keep a current customer (and have them buy more) than to acquire a new one. Sometimes, we're so focused on what we don't have yet, that we forget about what we do have --customers that already know us, love us and are ready to buy more from us. Kind of a Zen, "Love and Light" way of thinking of it, don't you think? And to take that approach a little further, consider this: Your focused energies always bounce back to you. In other words, pay attention to your customers and they'll reward you with return purchases, referrals and maybe even increasing the dollar amount of their next purchase.
Below are some ideas, topics and musings to spark your own campaign for customer retention and referrals.
Are you keeping in touch with your current customers? OK, they know where you are, they buy from you already, so now you can relax. Wrong. Customers are like puppies, children and your mother-in-law. They love attention and just like your mother-in-law, they want to be recognized and praised for spending their hard-earned money on you, or in this case, your products or services.
Stroke them with a thank-you email, tweet, text, post card, letter, or even a phone call and don’t forget to include an incentive to come back soon. The incentive can be as simple as a dollar amount off their next purchase or a freebie or discounted “add-on” to their next qualifying purchase.
While your customer is purchasing your product or service, ask for another sale. So many of us pre-judge our customers. We usually think they have less money to spend than they actually do. They buy from us and we’re grateful, yes, but hey, maybe they’ll buy more if we just ask. Smart beauty salon and spa owners know to ask the client at the checkout if they can book their next appointment. Gourmet food, gift and gift basket businesses have the opportunity to remind customers of upcoming holidays. People are so crazy busy these days that many will appreciate that they can get all their gift buying done in one visit, phone call or e-commerce transaction.
Speaking of selling for upcoming holidays, why not offer a Pre-Sale Event on seleted items? Write the order and take the credit card info, but don’t enter the transaction until the purchase is sent, delivered or picked up.
Loyalty Programs: I have mixed feelings on loyalty programs. My wallet is filled with preferred customer cards, discount cards, “buy 9, get one FREE” cards,etc., that I practically need a degree in accounting to keep them all straight. Half the time I forget to use them. What do you think? Do they work for you? What’s the incentive that works best for the program? A free product? A discount? Please provide some thoughts and feedback on loyalty programs, the topics in this article or any other ideas you’d like to share on customer retention campaigns.
Until next time, Namaste, Love and Light, God Bless, ArriverZENci!
