If you haven’t started targeting repeat purchases, this episode is for you. Did you know that previous customers are 9X more likely to purchase from your store than new visitors. 9X!!! And most store owners are just sitting there, watching sales roll in and busting their butt to get new people in the door. I don’t think so. Today I’ll share some really simple ways to take advantage of this statistic, this unwoo’ed subset of customers that honestly, you’ve neglected for too long.
Alright, let’s start nice and simple. Just ask them for their money. Haha okay not really, but After you’ve landed a sale, you can email your customer with a discount code to use on their next order. JUST make sure you include an expiration date. It’s a great way to drive urgency and encourage another purchase. The messaging can be really simple. Let them know you want to thank them for their purchase, so you’re sharing a discount code to show your appreciation. And it’s a great place to reinforce your story and the fact that you’re a small brand and they mean a lot to you.
Second, make the automation, feel less automated. When you make a sale, The standard email goes something like, “Hi [first name], we're getting your order ready to be shipped. We will notify you when it has been sent.”
But why not take it a step further and say something like, “Hey [first name]! You just did a great thing. By shopping with [business name], you supported a small, woman-owned business. And we make everything by hand. Which means you’ll get a one-of-a-kind piece you’ll treasure for a lifetime. We’ll let you know when your order is on the way!”
It doesn’t need to be anything crazy, but just adding in a couple sentences that are specific to your brand can make a huge difference.
Next? And this one is actually really impactful, is to raise anticipation after they buy. This email should go out 24 hours after an order has been placed. It's the perfect time to get your customers extra excited about the fact that they made the decision to buy from you.
You can include information like: FAQs, Your founding story, How you source fabrics, etc.
Once Again, this doesn’t need to be anything over the top. It’s just something to keep them excited about their order so that when it lands on their doorstep, they can’t wait to open it and keep coming back for more.
Not only will this keep your brand top of mind throughout the entire buying experience, but it will leave them wanting more. My favorite one was ordering facemasks from this new shop during 2020 and they sent me an email teaching me how to wash my masks when they arrived. I was wondering, and it was clearly a frequently asked question for them. And from then on, we only bought from that store.
Some other ideas are, and these are more specific to your brand so I’ll just list them, but please, take note and btrainstorm how you can make these your own.
You can: Reward VIPs with new product sample. This one is a really good play to begin building a strong community.
You can Offer new versions of products they already have at a manageable discount.
Another fun one is to send a direct mail message to first time customers. This sounds over the top, but check it out. Tradlands, a women’s clothing brand uses a service called PostPilot to automatically send out these notes to people’s home when they make a purchase and these cards account for 6% of their total revenue. PRetty cool!
Next, launch that Spin-to-win. They are insanely impactful for repeat customers, why? Because they know they already gave you their email or phone number. It;s like the opposite of a carnival game where it’s impossible to lose. People love these, you can include a phone number field and include a small percentage that they’ll receive 40% and people will play by the masses to try and get it.
Lastly, add a gift-card option to your store. There is nothing that says they love your brand more than sharing it with a friend. And better yet, now that friend will be put in your flow to make a purchase, make a repeat purchase, and do all of the things that this customer just did. It’s easy and a brilliant way to grow sales this year.
