For the typical brand, 90% of the sales it gets is from returning customers. In the remaining 10%, 9% of the sales come from satisfied customers who told others about you (word of mouth marketing) while the final 1% are completely new. With these statistics in mind, the key to a brand’s success is not getting more customers. Instead, getting more returning customers is what allows a brand to become successful. This is the part when brands and entrepreneurs ask how this can happen to them. Here are five tips to help you pull it off.
- Create a stay in touch checklist. Is there a customer who really enjoys your brand or comes back? Put that person on a stay in touch checklist. Frequently send emails to that person and interact with that person on your social networks. It is also important to interact in a way that builds a strong connection. Don’t suddenly show up to the people on this stay in touch checklist when you come out with a new product. The connection needs to be strengthened well before the new product comes out.
- Get people to subscribe to your blog. Someone who is subscribed to your blog will be more likely to buy one of your products than someone who is not subscribed to your blog. Subscribers see you often in their inbox, and being seen often creates a level of trust. This level of trust combined with valuable content will be sufficient to make people want to buy your products.
- Get people to follow you on your social networks. The bigger your social media audience is, the more people will want to join that audience. We have a natural tendency to join the things that are popular. In addition to growing your audience, social media encourages word of mouth and engagement. You will be able to talk with the customers who have already bought your products. Some of my book reviews are only there because I asked my followers who bought my book if they could leave a quick review.
- Have your wow factors in place. Your wow factors give your potential customers a reason to buy from you and a reason for customers to come back. Your wow factors are credentials that make people marvel at what you have done. If you do not have any wow factors, then you need to go get some.
- Host giveaways, sweepstakes, and discounts. If you can give some of your customers a free prize, those customers will share it with their friends. Word of mouth will allow your message to spread and make the 9% of the customer pie larger. In addition, your product will get some extra exposure, and some of the people who did not win the sweepstakes or get the giveaway award will end up buying the product anyway. In addition to hosting giveaways and sweepstakes, you need to have discounts in place. Lowering the price of your product will result in a higher volume of sales, and some of the customers who already bought one of your products will get attracted by the discount.
If you are able to master the process of getting returning customers, then your brand will thrive. There is no such thing as overnight success, but as you get more customers, the numbers in the customer pie will get larger. Right now, 90% of your customers may only refer to nine people, but if you implement these tactics, 90% of your customers may eventually be able to mean thousands. What are your thoughts on the list? Do you have any additional tips to get more returning customers? Please share your thoughts and advice below.
