It is much more difficult, not to mention expensive, to find new customers as opposed to having old customers return to buy more from you. With these more senior, more loyal customers, you will already have marketed to them and sold them something they thought was good value, and therefore they have come back. You haven’t had to spend any more time or money on marketing to this group, meaning that anything they buy technically offers more profit than something a brand new customer would buy.
Of course, new customers are vital if you want to grow your business, but loyal customers also have their place, and therefore you’ll need to work in ensuring your old customers do remain loyal and come back to you over and over. Here are some ways you can do it.
Make Your Marketing Relevant
Older customers who have already had an experience of what you do and how you do it don’t need quite as much marketing to as new customers will. However, that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any marketing at all. In fact, if you only concentrate on gaining new customers with your marketing (by offering welcome rewards and so on), then you could alienate the more loyal customers, pushing them into your competitors’ stores and websites instead of your own.
You will need to ensure your marketing is inclusive and that you take care of your older customers as well as trying to secure new ones. Because this requires a good knowledge of marketing, it is usually best to outsource this work to a marketing company or a converted PPC management agency.
Get Their Opinion
Asking your previous customers what they thought of your service and the products they bought from you has a number of benefits. Firstly, you’ll get some useful feedback about what works and what needs to be worked on. This will help you create a business that more people like. Next, your customers will feel happy to have been asked and will be more receptive to any marketing you might put out to them because they know you take their opinions seriously.
On top of this, simply by sending out an email survey, or putting a postcard in the mail, or even asking for opinions on social media, you will be reminding people of your business. The more your name is out there, the more likely it is they will remember to use you in the future.
Giveaways
They say you can’t buy love, but when it comes to gaining more loyal customers, offering something for free will certainly help. If your customers feel they are getting a bargain or more than they expected, they will be happy to use you in the future, knowing they’ll continue to get more of the same. They’ll also be more likely to tell their friends and family, and since word-of-mouth advertising is so crucial and cost-effective, this can be a fantastic additional to your marketing plan.
Some of the things you can give away include coupons, free shipping, free gifts, and loyalty points. Although some of these will cost you money, you should be able to recoup that money (and more) by having loyal customers who will continue to buy from you.
