Gaining a new customer is enthralling, but to keep a business strong, the client-base needs to remain steady. If customers only use your service once and move on, you’re left in the same place you were before you got their business.
It is a fact throughout the entrepreneurial world that a repeat customer is much more attainable than a line of new customers. To find new customers you will have to get the word out to people who may or may not even need your business. A repeat customer is someone who already has a need for your company and already knows exactly what your company can do for them.
Advantages Of Repeat Customers
When looking to increase the bottom line, always take action to create repeat customers. This means providing the best service possible, so next time that consumer needs your service they return.
Many companies will use a large portion of their budget on intense marketing to catch the eye of potential clients. If a business is small or in its beginning stages, this can be the least strategic way to use your money.
An often overlooked resource is the use of your current and past customer base. Focusing your budget and growth towards creating a better consumer experience will encourage return customers. This will is the most effective way to bring in more revenue.
Easier Sale
With a limited time-frame to increase sales, a lot of time is wasted on attempting to grab new customers and convince them to come to you for their needs. Statistically, there is only a slim 13 percent chance that they will purchase anything. Customers with past purchases have an increasingly larger rate to buy again- 60 to 70 percent.
Most prospective customers are only researching reliable companies to get the job done and may not be ready to buy right away or they already have a trusted company it will be hard to sway them from. But past customers have worked with you before, and gotten what they wanted, so they can trust it will happen again when they are in need.
Promoters
Promotion is the biggest advantage of having repeat customers. If you have done your job well an provided a competitive service or product, the consumer is likely to boast about your company to friends, family, or business connections. While you are not paying them for this service, a simple social media post can go along way. The people they tell are more likely to be able to believe and trust their friend’s review than the ad of a company they do not know.
This is a way your repeat customers can attract new clientele. Essentially you will be hitting two birds with one stone, encouraging repeat sales as well as getting the word out to potential consumers without any extra effort (or capital) from you.
Customer Retention
Customer retention refers to gaining the loyalty of your customers. When the number of customers your company has at one time booms, everything may look great, but unless that revenue can be sustained, you will not be able to grow.
Statistics show that when customer retention is raised by only 5 percent, profitability can increase as much as 75 percent. Usually, as much as 80 percent of future profits will come from long term relationships with consumers when you are their go-to provider.
Return Customers Spend More
Repeat customers are more likely to go for extra services or bigger purchases than first-time customers who are still being cautious. Repeat customers who know they can get what they need from you will spend more but are also more likely to spring for extra add ons, bonus features or protection plans.
Think of a barber shop, and how most clients will continue to show loyalty to one location, or person, who has done the job correctly before and will often get more complicated services as trust develops.
How To Increase Repeat Customers
It’s apparent that repeat customers can increase your sales when you focus on them, rather than searching out new consumers.
Here are a few ways to take this information and create real results with your prior business relationships.
1. Take Action
Even if a customer had a bad experience, there are still ways to bring them back. If there were any issues with your service, always make sure you address them immediately and take steps in remedying the problem. Fixing a problem can sometimes refresh the trust a consumer needs to come back. This way they know if there is another problem in the future at least your company is one that will resolve it in a satisfactory manner.
After making a sale, check on the satisfaction of the customer to show you actually care about their life being improved by your company. A second benefit of checking on satisfaction is, if a problem is encountered by one customer, it will likely be encountered again. This information will not only help you increase the satisfaction of that customer but will help you fix that problem and do so for future sales as well.
2. Personalization
Cold, standard email campaigns never bode well with the general public. They are impersonal and show that you simply sent a vague email to hoards of people in hopes of sucking money out of them. Use personalization methods to be sure the customer knows you are talking directly to them.
This is the method to use for confirmation emails, thanking them and reinforcing their trust in you. Additionally, when a customer knows you remember them and their particular needs, they will have more faith that you strive to serve their individual needs.
3. Regular Engagement
Even when a business resonates with customers, it can be easily forgotten. Their lives are busy, and unfortunately, have little to do with your company. Make sure to make an effort to keep prior customers involved with the brand.
This can be done through newsletters, or even by making social media pages where new content is added regularly. Use these platforms to remind them of their last good experience, inform them of new products, and show them any similar products or services you provide.
Loyalty is Key
New customers are not always the solution to increasing sales for your company. If customers do not want to return or spread the word, you’ll be stuck in a loop trying to get new customers. Adding a little TLC when dealing with your customer base can lead to them returning to your business time and time again.
