5 MUST-KNOW TECHNIQUES THAT GET RETURN CUSTOMERS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Attracting customers is not as difficult as it sounds. People are generally open to trying new products and services, if you angle your offering correctly, provide value and have the right combination of public relations and marketing. Your real problem is getting return customers for your business. Even fully satisfied customers may end up never returning because they were lured by other offerings or because they simply forgot.
Marketing for repeat business should always be part of your overall game plan, as return business is a big part of your business\’s growth. Without it, your company has no future. Here are a few things you can do to get people to come back over and over again:
1. Gamification of Related Activities
There\’s a reason that many videogames involve some sort of levelling system, and that\’s because it gives people a sense of progression. It makes even boring games exciting because people get a rush out of hearing a levelling up sound and getting to pick how their experience grows and changes.
You can apply a similar concept to your company. Even something as simple as rewarding purchase milestones can get people to come back.
2. Freemium Models are Perfectly Profitable
Offering a trial or free version of your product is a surprisingly profitable business model. Dropbox, for example, offers a fully functional and free version of their service with a subscription option for customers who want more space and features. What\’s important to remember is that your product should be complete and fully functional regardless of which freemium model you choose. You want to make a good impression and let people know what the terms of the \”free\” are right up front – \”free trial for 14 days, no credit card required.\” The easier you make the sample, the more takers you get. The more they like, the more they stay and repeat.
3. Utilize Keywords to Draw More Organic Traffic
One of the greatest barriers to return business is simply them forgetting about you. It may even have nothing to do with product satisfaction, though a positive experience doesn\’t hurt. Sometimes you just slip from their thoughts. However, if they bought your offering once and forgot about it, they\’re likely to find it the same way again. More often than not, that\’ll involve a search engine.
Take a look at which keywords drive traffic to your site. Create new landing pages for those keywords and add calls-to-action to them. This will let you take advantage of the attention, increasing conversion rates. Keep in mind that the more deviated it is from your main product or industry, the more likely it is to fade out in time. Track any and all pages you make this way so you can adjust commitments accordingly.
4. Personalize the Experience
A great way to improve customer retention is by personalizing the experience. Instead of a generic landing page, you can have it designed in such a manner that expresses its relevance to the viewer. Even something as simple as changing visible currencies on your webpage to match their current location can get them to stay. For your brick-and-mortar store, you can keep a record of each customer\’s purchase and have that record available to customer support so they can customize their service. Utilizing a person\’s name when possible (Welcome back, Donna!) is also a great way to personalize that is immediately recognizable and delightful to them.
5. Gather Feedback
Sometimes, the customer knows more than you do. It\’s nothing to be ashamed of – they\’re the ones experiencing the product as intended. How they feel about the experience is important. Gathering feedback through surveys not only gets you important feedback, it helps them remember your company. This can get them back into your store, buying more products. It\’s extra special to reward them for taking the time to give you feedback (\”Take a brief survey and get a coupon code for 15% off your next order\”).
It doesn\’t matter how many customers you get with your initial buzz if they don\’t come back. A successful business is built on recurring revenue streams. Make sure your marketing plan does what it takes to get customers to remember you and go through the doors again and again. A good product or service isn\’t enough – you must take the right measures and plan for repeat business. Do it well, and you\’ll secure the future of your company. A new customer is always wonderful, but the repeat ones are golden – you can bank on it.
