Any small business owner is going to understandably get excited when they secure a new customer. Yet what some business owners end up doing is overlooking the steps they can undergo to ensure that new customers become repeat customers.
There are a few different ways to make sure this transition occurs. Most of it, regardless of your industry, comes down to providing top notch and unrivaled services as well as developing a friendly relationship with those customers.
If you’re looking for easy ways to make sure that ne customer will quickly become a loyal customer, there are three basic principles you can start using.
Make Them Feel Appreciated
By using a variety of tools such as mobile marketing, simple surveys and forms, business owners can learn quite a bit about their customers. However, rather than using this information to relentlessly fill their in-boxes and text screens with sales or offers, use it to make a personal connection. Send them a birthday message on their birthday or even offer them a “birthday only” offer.
This shows the customer that you have taken the time to send them a specific and individualized message. Any customer, no matter what sort of service or product they are looking for, likes to feel that they are valuable.
Honesty and Transparency
This can come in a variety of different ways. Part of it is not setting unrealistic expectations just to make a new customer feel happy. Most new customers will want to hear the actual date a job will be completed rather than an unrealistic prediction that will later be pushed back.
It also means letting you customer in on your processes. Check in with them from time to time throughout the course of a job to let them know where things currently stand and how you are progressing. Including them in such a way makes them feel as if they are a larger part of the process.
Offer Incentives
Give customers a reason to come back. Offer an awards program that gives them discounts or other goodies for returning in the future. Make sure these incentives are only offered to repeat customer, ensuring the exclusivity of the offer.
What are some other strategies your business has used to turn new customers into repeat customers?