You’ve heard it a million times. It’s easier to retain a customer than find a new one.
Retained customers are your most loyal brand ambassadors who bring in repeat sales.
Keep them at all costs.
And you may ask, “well, isn’t it important to get new customers?”
The answer is yes, but you need to tick both boxes to achieve business sustainability and growth.
Read this post to learn why it’s sometimes easier to generate repeat sales than find new ones.
1 | Getting repeat sales is more cost effective than new ones
Most businesses focus more on getting new customers than retaining their existing ones. 44% of businesses are more likely to invest in customer acquisition strategies than in maintaining them.
Consider something like a retargeting ad. Someone who often buys from you is more likely to buy again than one who just happens to see your ad accidentally.
2 | Repeat sales generate free word-of-mouth marketing
If you are looking for a product, you first seek the opinion of your close friends and if it’s positive, you buy the product almost immediately.
That’s the power of word-of-mouth.
Anyone who buys your products repeatedly will be more likely to spread the word on how awesome your brand is, and the people they recommend will bring more people to your store.
This leads to a true customer base who are always eager to know what you are launching next.
Herdify can help with this – we’re experts in targeting offline word-of-mouth to increase sales, and turning those sales into loyal customers.
3 | Customers buy from brands they trust
Once a customer trusts you, and buys from you, you don’t have to worry so much about pleasing them.
They know that you provide quality products so they’re already advocates of your business and this makes it easier to generate repeat sales.
Think about somebody who just stumbled on your page from a quick Google search.
It’d take probably six months to persuade them to buy because they don’t trust you. At least, not yet.
Two of the best ways to build trust with a customer is through content and email marketing.
4 | You know what existing customers like
As you carry out more customer research, you get to know what they like and this in turn generates more repeat sales, especially in a product category that’s popular.
If you were to introduce a new category, even your most loyal customers would be a little hesitant to try it out.
Finding sales for the category would mean pumping more resources to market it.
5 | Increase in lifetime value (LTV)
Customers who often buy from you increase your store’s average order value and overall, the lifetime value of customers.
This means you get better profit margins and can save resources for other business areas that need extra attention.
You can increase LTV by:
- Adopting cross- and up-selling tips
- Having a reward programme for your customers
- Training your customer service team on how to handle even the trickiest customers
- Sending regular emails and helpful content to your customers
Get more repeat sales
While it’s important to get new customers who bring in new sales, it’s also important to ensure your existing customer base brings in more consistent sales every month.
Leveraging different marketing strategies, such as a strong online presence, can help you get more repeat sales because you’re constantly communicating with your customers.
Herdify can help with this – we’re experts in targeting offline word-of-mouth to increase sales, and turning those sales into loyal customers.
