Winning a new customer takes time and money. Keeping one usually takes less, and the people who have already bought from you know your business and are more likely to buy again.
Even so, many small businesses put most of their marketing effort into finding new customers, while existing ones quietly drift away. This post covers practical ways to keep more of the customers you have already earned.
Why retention deserves more attention
Repeat customers are often the most valuable part of a business. They need less convincing and are more open to other services you offer. Happy ones also recommend you to people they know.
Retention is not a campaign you run once a year. It is about how you look after people at every point after they have paid.
Start with good customer records
You can’t look after customers well if you don’t know who they are. At a minimum, keep a clean list with:
- contact details and how each customer prefers to be contacted
- what they bought and when
- whether they have agreed to receive marketing
- notes about any problems or preferences
This might live in your booking system, accounting software, online shop or a CRM. A simple system that staff actually keep up to date is better than a complicated one nobody uses.
Website analytics can add to the picture by showing which pages returning visitors look at and what brings them back. Here is how we approach analytics and data.
Email is still the most reliable retention tool
Social media posts reach only some of your followers, and the platforms change their rules often. Email goes straight to people who have asked to hear from you.
Useful retention emails include:
- a thank-you after a first purchase, with helpful next steps
- tips on getting more from something they have bought
- service or replacement reminders at sensible times
- news about services that relate to what they already use
Write like a person, not a committee. Keep emails short and relevant, and send them often enough to stay in mind without wearing out your welcome.
In Australia, marketing emails and text messages must follow the Spam Act. In plain terms, you need consent to send them, they must clearly identify your business and they must include a working unsubscribe option. The ACMA website has current guidance if you are unsure.
For more ideas, read our email marketing tips or see our email marketing services.
Make your website useful after the sale
Many websites are built only to win the first enquiry. With a few additions, they can do much more.
Consider adding:
- an easy way to rebook, reorder or request a follow-up service
- care guides, FAQs and how-to content for the products or services you sell
- customer accounts with order history, if you sell online
- clear details for after-sales help
Make buying again as easy as possible. Saved details, quick reorders and subscription options for regular purchases all help, as long as they are secure and simple to manage. Good web design plans for the second sale as well as the first.
Social media is usually treated as a way to find new customers. It is just as useful for staying in touch with the ones you have.
Share content your current customers will value, such as practical advice, new products, behind-the-scenes updates and answers to common questions. Reply to comments and messages promptly. A smaller audience that engages is worth more than a large one that never interacts.
Always ask permission before sharing a customer’s photo or story. Our social media marketing page explains how we can help.
Loyalty that feels genuine
Loyalty programmes can work, but many are too complicated for customers to bother with. If you run one, keep it simple and make the rewards easy to reach.
Points are not the only option. You could offer:
- priority booking for regular customers
- early access to new products or seasonal services
- a personal thank-you after a milestone
- small extras that cost you little but show you have noticed
Referral rewards can also work well. Check any rules that apply to your industry first.
A note for health businesses
Dental, medical, allied health, cosmetic and other regulated health services have extra rules. Ahpra’s advertising rules ban testimonials and restrict gifts, discounts and other incentives, as well as before-and-after images. Loyalty schemes, referral rewards and customer story posts may not be allowed.
Check Ahpra’s current advertising guidance before launching anything like this. For most practices, retention comes down to good care and clear, helpful reminders about appointments and follow-ups.
Handle problems well
Every business has the occasional unhappy customer. How you respond often decides whether they stay.
Reply quickly. Take responsibility where you got something wrong, and fix the problem properly. A complaint handled well can leave a customer more loyal than before, because they have seen how you behave when things go wrong.
Look for patterns too. If the same complaint keeps coming up, there is probably a process worth fixing.
Stay visible between purchases
Even happy customers forget about you when life gets busy. Regular, useful contact keeps your business in mind for the next time they need you.
Content helps here. Blog posts, guides and answers to common questions bring past customers back through Google searches. Strong SEO means that when they search for help, they find you rather than a competitor.
Use customer data respectfully
Use what you know to be helpful, not pushy. A reminder that a service is due is useful. A run of daily emails after someone looked at one product is not.
Only collect what you need, keep it secure and explain in your privacy policy how you use it.
Measure what matters
Track a few simple numbers over time:
- how many customers buy or book again
- the average time between purchases
- how many customers you lose each year
- the average value of a customer over time
Your booking or sales system may already report some of these. Look at the trend over several months rather than reacting to a single one.
Start small
You don’t need to do everything at once. Pick one idea from this post, put it in place properly and see how it goes. Then add another.
SLINKY is a Perth digital agency founded in 1998, offering digital marketing, email marketing, social media and web design. If you would like to talk about keeping more of your customers, get in touch. You will deal directly with senior people, with no account managers.
