Hello!  Welcome the last article in my eShop series.   Yep, it’s taken over a month for me to get it out, but I hope you’ll find it’s been worth the wait.  You can view the previous posts by clicking here.   Subscribe to my blog to receive future updates.

Let’s get started:

Day 5 – ask yourself  ‘Will my customers remember me?’

We’re going to learn to focus on repeat custom.  Do you think you could be overlooking the potential of repeat custom?

You shouldn’t be, especially if you’re spending hundreds on Adwords to break even with sales from new visitors.

But what if those new visitors purchased two or three times again?

You’d turn your £100 investment into £1,000!

You see, it’s all about branding, good customer relationships and providing value.

So, read on and I’ll tell you step-by-step how to make the most out of your current customers and how to get them to buy from you again in the future.  (It’s actually pretty easy!)

Be memorable:

Let’s start right at the beginning with a logo and tagline, the foundations of building a brand.

If I say Nike, do you think ‘swoosh?’  If I say MacDonald’s, are you immediately thinking about those golden arches?

What about your business?  If I said your business’ name, what comes to mind?

Do you have a logo?

No?  Then spend some time thinking about how you can make your shop memorable too.  Hire a designer and get a logo as soon as possible!

If you’ve got a logo already, think how it represents your company?  Old fashioned?  Sleek?  Expensive?  Luxurious? Budget? Colourful? Happy?  If your logo is communicating one thing, but your brand is about another, think about swapping or updating the design to something more appropriate.

Taglines:  ‘We buy any car . com’

Every website needs a tagline.  If your site doesn’t have one, you need to start creating!

Readers in the UK will have all experienced that annoying (but memorable!) ‘WE BUY ANY CAR . COM’ advert – it’s catchy, it sticks in your mind and as a result it’s engrained into my mind.  In fact, I’d probably look there first if I were to sell my car today.

Your tagline doesn’t need to be clever or fancy, it just needs to communicate what you do.  Though, you’ll get points if it’s particularly memorable.

Freebies:

I like to buy bits and pieces from Etsy.com and sometimes sellers will send me a couple of freebies with my order.  I love it and I must admit, I prefer to order from them again.

Why?

It’s all about value. You feel like you’re getting more for your money.

Additionally, the sample may contain something fantastic that I’ll want to buy again and it helps me remember that seller in the future.

So give it a try – give away a free sample when you ship out products.  Anything from trial bags of dog food to perfume samples, it’ll help increase your revenue.

Enclose business cards or stickers with the parcel:

You must enclose tangible representations of your business into parcels you post, so customers can be reminded of you down the line when they want to buy similar products again.

Business cards are great, but what about stickers or postcards? Fridge magnets?

Do you sell books?  Instead send out bookmarks with your company details on.

Whatever you send, ensure it represents YOUR business.  Think outside the box – be quirky and be memorable.   You’ll get points if you can think of an item that costs the same price as a business card, but will get used again and again…

Pretty packaging is pretty important:

Don’t just shove items into a Jiffy bag.

Put some thought and attention into it, especially if you sell luxury, exquisite or expensive items.  The extra care you put into your wrapping will help people to remember your brand in the future.  For example, I always remember that TopShop ship out their clothes in cute brown paper parcels with polka dots on.  I’ve only ever bought one item from there (and that was 14 months ago) but it’s stuck in my mind!

If you hand-make your own products, look into making your own wrapping too, it’ll be quirky and unique.  A great way is to stitch small squares of interesting papers together using a sewing machine.

Of course, if you’re selling something less exciting, like computer components, car parts or stationary, think about something simple, like leaving a ‘thank you’ note on letter-headed paper in the envelope.

Email marketing:

It’s worth collecting the email addresses of people you’ve sold to previously.  You can design a template and send out communications detailing your new product ranges, great offers and interesting news.   Reminding people you exist is a great way to get repeat business from the customers who didn’t bookmark your site after purchasing on a whim, or after conducting a quick Google search.

Snail mail:

This follows on from the above point.   If you’re posting goods to your clients, you have their address.  So, occasionally remind people you exist.  Send out a brochure, postcard or pamphlet about your new range and watch as the repeat orders fly in from past customers!

Have a chat!

Encourage conversation with your past clients.  Invite them to join your fan page on Facebook or add you on Twitter.  Find out what they liked about your service and more importantly, what they didn’t.  Chat with customers, build a rapport and learn from their comments.

Any problems that arise from conversations are your chance to shine:  make sure you use it as an opportunity to put things right, not to post a rebuttal or send an angry comment back!

Chat to your customers and get their feedback on what they’re looking for and then provide it. If you listen to them, they’ll only want to buy from your shop in the future.

PLUS they’ll recommend their friends and family.

And what if you offer the same great service to your customer’s friends and family?

They’ll recommend you to their friends and family too.

You’ll find eventually that your current customers are actually finding new customers for you.  And at this point, you’ve cracked it.

Word of mouth advertising will save you spending money looking for brand new customers and you’ll further increase that initial investment.

Think about offering discounts for new customer referrals to encourage it.

Email vouchers or coupons to your customers and allow them to be shared online.  They’ll soon spread virally; you’ll find them shared to Facebook and Twitter within hours (which is more FREE advertising for you!)

Finally:

I hope this guide has given you some ideas about customer retention and helps you to be in a position where repeat custom pays for the initial investments you’ve made in your eShop.

I also hope these tips from my eShop series have helped you in some shape or form, please do let me know if you’ve tried any of them.  I’ll even post ‘success stories’ right here on my blog.