March 12th, 2014 by Elma Jane
As a startup, gaining new customers is only half the battle. Earning those customers’ trust and getting them to come back to your company can sometimes be even trickier than convincing them to try your product or service in the first place. With an ever-increasing number of competing businesses and savvy consumers, lack of product variety and poor marketing strategies can make it tough for a small business to stand out from the crowd.
Employing these strategies in your small business are ways to keep your customers coming back.
Don’t bombard existing customers. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is trying to communicate with their existing customers too frequently. People are not constantly looking for information from the places they shop. Finding the right balance of frequency and communication style is key to an effective marketing strategy. Pushing information at your customers too often can become annoying, and end up driving them away.
Pay attention to what’s selling and what isn’t. Retaining customers is all about providing continued value to your buyers. Survey customers frequently to find out which of your products they like and don’t like, and what they’d like to see from your business. With that information, you can eliminate products or services that aren’t selling, to make room for ones that will.
Really know who your customers are. Sales records tell companies what their customers purchased and how much those customers spent. In order to earn repeat business, however, you have to dig deeper into the data about who your customers are, and market to them based on that information. Knowing your customers’ ages, locations and exactly how your product affects their lives can help make your marketing tactics more targeted. This, hopefully, will provide a better experience for your customers.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Small Business Improvement Tagged with: communication, continued value, customers, customers coming back, marketing strategies, marketing tactics, repeat business, retaining customers, savvy customers, small business, startup, targeted
