Top Tips for Higher Customer Purchase Frequency

7 years ago | Posted in: Articles, Business | 593 Views

Once a transaction between a customer and your business takes place, they’re gone. But is that really the only possible outcome? Have you thoroughly engaged them to the extent that you’re sure they weren’t shopping for something more that you could have supplied them with if you had asked? Did you collect any meaningful data that would allow you to pursue future sales opportunities with them that would be relevant to their tastes and interests? If not, your business isn’t effectively leveraging relationships with your customers, which is significantly impacting your bottom line. Building repeat business isn’t mere MBA jargon. It’s just good common sense that requires that you stay in touch past the point of sale. It also enables you to stand out in the crowd. Read on for more tips on how to increase customer purchase frequency.

Following Up

Passive selling means receiving orders without pursuing them. It’s assuming that a customer only wanted what they bought at the point of sale and won’t have future needs. Follow-up calls can be perceived as overly pushy if one is not made with the customer’s needs in mind, however. If the customer has had a positive experience with the product or service you sold them, it’s a perfect opportunity to inform them about a complementary one that may also be of interest. Simply picking up the phone to get feedback on a buyer’s last purchase is how conversations that lead to future sales begin.

Refills and Renewals

Having (CRM) or customer relationship management software on your desk isn’t enough. What matters is how you use it, which is why companies frequently express disappointment with the minimal sales that come out of the tons of customer data they store. Contacting customers when their current contracts with you are about to expire or at the date at which it’s probable that they would want to replace the last product they purchased with a newer model that has more advanced features or functionality, is a basic action that can result in repeat business. Recent research from Harvard Business Review shows that companies can develop an unrealistic faith in their CRM’s and treat them like magic wands that will perform the sales process for them when it’s actually artful deployment of the information your CRM stores that makes the difference.

Loyalty Rewards

65 percent of companies reward their customers with discounts and other perks to keep them coming back again. The most basic example is the customer handing the swipe card on their keychain to the cashier ringing up the items they’re buying at their neighborhood pharmacy. Customers are not averse to signing up for programs that offer them long-term savings, which can be aided by an effective email marketing agency. Allowing customers to become “members” is also a creative form of relationship-building that personalizes their shopping experience with you in particular. Brands who offer memberships address a desire that many shoppers have to feel a part of the environment they shop in and not just do random unrelated transactions in it.

Even a small business can launch a marketing strategy that better serves the needs of its customers. Hiring high-end consultants or experts isn’t always necessary. The idea that reaching out to your existing customer base will be regarded by them as intrusive can lead to heavy losses. Engaging with the market you target is how you learn what they’re interested in and what their budgets are. It provides your business with data that will make your next line of products and services of greater interest and ensure that what you’re selling is what your customers are really looking to buy.

 

By: Mark Palmer 

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