Seven Sure-Fire Ways to Attract Repeat Customers

The old saying is true - in many businesses, 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers!! 

So how does a new Internet business attract and retain your pool of loyal customers that will put 80% of your sales in your pocket month after month? We'll address that very question here based on our experiences in starting a Internet retail clothing business and help you avoid some of our 'lessons-learned' along the way.

1. Think Marketing from Day One! 

First off, having a solid marketing plan (and yes, thinking about marketing) before you even create your first web page is an important first step. If you market your products well in the beginning and think through your marketing plan, focusing on how you will present your products (i.e., quality pictures, good descriptive text) and how your site will convey to the first time user a sense of trust, then you will find that you can jump start your repeat business right from the beginning of your Internet marketing efforts. Remember, trust is so critical in establishing a new customer relationship, and this is particularly true on the Internet.

2. Attach Business Cards in your Shipment

You may not think you really need business cards in an Internet business where you aren't meeting potential customers face-to-face or attending trade shows, but it's the little things that can add up to big return business. Simply staple a nice looking business card to your invoice when you mail out your product. It used to take weeks and cost a lot more to obtain professional looking business cards. Now, you can get multi-color business cards for under $15.00 online; great investment that makes you look like a big company as part of your overall product package! You can even order magnet business cards that your repeat customers may place in their office or even better - on their refrigerator!

3. Company/Product Presentation

Speaking of your overall product package, think of a memorable meal at a fancy restaurant. You likely had smaller portions at higher prices, but what you remember is the presentation of the product (in this case the meal). When the presentation is professional, nice looking, connotes quality, then you tend to forget that you may have paid a few dollars more than if you shopped around. So if you're selling widgets, then make sure you neatly package the product (in our case clothing, so we hand fold each shirt and press them before they go out the door), and remember the nice looking business card, plus use some shipping software (such as USPS Ship and Click) to print out a professional mailing label. It's the little things that matter!

4. Color Invoices to make you look BIG! 

Along the same lines as multi-color business cards, you can also do multi-color (and yes use color) invoices to include in your mailing along with your product. Use your corporate logo and ensure you include a 're-order' number (your 800 number). Again this gives your small company that big company feel. Some even use the multi-layer invoices where you provide the customer with the 'customer copy' and you keep the top copy. Wow, they must be big if they have multiple copies of their invoices!

5. Coupons for Second Orders

One great way to convert a new customer into a repeat customer is to include a coupon that the customer can use on their second order - either include with the product shipment, or send your customer an email with an attached coupon and of course thank them for their first order! This type of 'call to action' works very well - it provides the customer an incentive for placing that second order and typically if your customer orders twice, they are more likely to become a regular customer of yours.

6. Newsletters

Many would say this is the best way to obtain repeat customers by offering a monthly newsletter. But we suggest including more than just your product offerings in the newsletter. Ask yourself whether another person would find your newsletter interesting to read - even have a friend read the newsletter before you send them out. Include news about your products or services, a funny story, helpful tips, or other interesting tidbits to encourage the reader to open your newsletter each month to see what new tidbits you have come up with each month. Of course, you can offer coupons and holiday specials as part of your newsletter as well but keep it fresh and interesting each month to encourage your readers to click and open your email each month.

7.Catalog Mailings 

This may seem 'old-school' but actual hard copy product catalogs work very well with many products, including the apparel business that we're in. You can obtain professional looking color catalogs fairly inexpensively nowadays with desktop publishing software or third party companies which you can mail out 2-4 times per year to customers on your monthly newsletter list. We have found this works better than electronic catalogs or the newsletter itself. People will glace through a hard copy catalog and keep it around the house longer than simply an email from your company.

Repeat customers is so crucial to many online businesses; without them, many businesses would simply fail after the first year if they had to attract brand new customers year after year. If you think about and follow some of tips above, even before you start actively marketing your website, you'll find your business can attract and retain a large group repeat customers, that account for up to 80 percent of your sales even as you continue to expand your new business. We wish you the best of luck with your new online business!!