Did you know
that on average, loyal customers are worth more up to 10
times as much as their first purchase?
Getting people
to visit your
store
can be a task in itself, but once you've got them through your doors
you need to make sure you turn them into loyal customers, as it can
be really worthwhile for your profits!
So how do you
make sure that customers keep coming back to you?
Take a look at
this blog post to find out:
#1.
Make them feel like a rockstar
Good impressions
count for everything right? Well, when a customer walks into your
store for the first time you need to make them feel welcome. And we
don't just mean service with a smile. We mean, make them feel like a
rockstar!
The truth is,
great customer service doesn’t cost a thing but can hugely benefit
you in the long run.
In fact, a well
known UK designer store Cath Kidston has a policy in that every
employee must give three compliments to every single customer. It's
this kind of attention to detail that encourages people to visit
again.
Whenever a
person receives good customer service it leaves a lasting impression,
and even though the customer may not buy something that time, they
are more likely to come back at a later date.
Make sure you
train your employees on the importance of great customer service and
implement tactics to impress the customer as soon as they enter the
store.
#2.
Reward their loyalty
Coming up with a
loyalty points program is the perfect way to incentivise customers to
visit you again. The idea is that they'll receive a loyalty card to
use whenever they shop with you. And every time they make a purchase,
they'll build up points that can be used in exchange for a discount
once they've reached a certain amount of points.
It's a simple
idea that can help customers come back to your store – and continue
to spend more with you.
Looking for
inspiration? Take a look at this post from HubSpot to find 7
customer loyalty programs that actually add value.
#3.
Ask them to open a store card
A store card is
another incentive to get people to come back and shop with you and it
essentially works like a credit card. You can find third party
companies that will provide the finance side, so that you can offer
the customer the chance to put their purchase on the card so that
they don't have to make the payment up front.
This will help
further encourage people to continue to shop with you, as the card
will be a nice little reminder in their wallet!
#4.
Market to them online
We talk a lot
about omni-channel
marketing,
and this definitely applies here. Whether your customer is shopping
with you in store, looking at your social pages, or visiting your
website, you need to make sure that you're providing the same
experience across every platform.
Not only will
this help define your brand, but it'll help the customer understand
what they can expect when they shop with you.
When a customer
visits your store, encourage them to sign up for email marketing so
that you can send them discounts, offers and promotions. And make
sure that your email marketing campaigns are aligned with the same
messages that your customers can expect to find in store.
#6.
Host an event
Hosting
an event is the perfect way to get people to come in store. It'll
help build your presence within your community and it can get people
talking about your brand.
Many
stores tend to opt to host a fundraiser to raise money for charity, for example hosting a casino night, as
this will help raise awareness of the charity, and it's great
publicity for the store itself.
You
could even host an event that ties into a holiday, or a run a
promotion that is relevant to what you sell. For example, you could
create merchandise to giveaway for Christmas, Valentines or even the
4th
of July!
#5.
Have a personality on social
Again,
this goes back to marketing online. Making sure you have a
personality on social media can really help to drive people back to
your store. Especially having a local business page on Facebook.
You
can use your social to run contests, tell them about your latest
event, give away coupons, or inform customers of the latest deals so
that you're always on their radar and they'll be more inclined to
come and shop with you.
#6.
Be accommodating
Making
sure you're accommodating to your customers is common sense, but
there are little additions that you may not have thought about that
could make all the difference.
For
example, people can spend hours in places like Starbucks because
they're completely accommodating to their customers. And what to they
do? They offer free wifi of course! The idea is of course that the
longer the customer spends using the web, the more drinks they'll
buy. But if you're worried about turnover then you can always put a
cap on how long the customer gets to spend using your wifi.
Or
maybe your shop doesn’t suit offering free wifi – and that's ok.
Small gestures like a public restroom or even chairs to sit down can
really help give the impression that you are accommodating for all of
your customers.
Takeaway
The
secret to getting people to keep coming back your store is to make
people look forward to shopping with you. It's all about building a
friendly, worthwhile place to come and visit and all of these points
above can help you to do that! If you have anymore ideas then feel
free to let us know in the comments below.
And
if you're looking for a mobile
card reader then take a look at our solution! We've made it
really easy for you to sell in person. Contact us today to find out
more.