May 2004

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2004</I></div> <div> <I>The following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business' on 25 May 2004</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Getting customers to return </B></div> <bR> <div> How often do your customers come back to your business and buy from you again?  I'm afraid that a lot of business owners I meet don't have a clue.  Number of transactions per customer is the third of the `cornerstone' measures we've been examining over the past few months.   </div> <bR> <div> Once your lead generation strategies have created interest in your products or services, and you have been successful in converting some of those leads into first-time buyers, you need to concentrate on turning them into regulars - people whose <U>custom</U> it is to do business with you - the lifeblood of any business:  customers.  </div> <div> Remember, it costs you money to attract each new customer and, until you've sold to them a few times at least it's unlikely you will have made any profit from them.  So, now you can begin to focus on building the lifetime value of your new customers - the accumulated profit that provides your business with a return on the investment you made in attracting them in the first place.</div> <bR> <div> Why is it so important to know the number of transactions?  As with any worthwhile measure, it's so you can see the effect of various strategies as you work to improve the numbers.  Simply stated, if you don't keep score, you'll never know whether or not you're winning.</div> <bR> <div> So, what sort of things can a business owner do to increase the number of transactions per customer?  In the vast majority of businesses I see, there is one blindingly obvious strategy that is usually overlooked and which can have a significant impact on repeat business and improved profits:  making sure that every customer knows <U>everything</U> your business can do for them.  Time and again, I hear of customers saying “I didn't know you sold X, or could provide service Y.  If I had done I would have come to you, rather than your competitor.”  Make sure that you use every opportunity to tell your customers what you sell.  </div> <bR> <div> If you have a service business like a hairdressing salon or carpet cleaning service, you'd be surprised how the number of transactions will improve if you just book your client's next session as you conclude this one.  </div> <bR> <div> Retailers of all sorts can benefit hugely from making their better customers (you do know which ones they are, don't you?) feel special.  Why not make them members of a “VIP Club” and invite them to special, closed-door events where they can get first view of new products and perhaps enjoy a discount on the night.  Almost any type of business can provide special offers, communicated to your customers by mail shots or via your website.  Regular newsletters informing customers of new products or services and telling them more about your business can increase the number of times they buy from you.</div> <bR> <div> There are many simple, easy to implement ways in which virtually any business can increase the number of transactions per customer and improve, therefore, the value of that customer to the business and your profitability.  Perhaps the most effective of all, and one which is all too often overlooked, is to simply ask your customer to come back.  Regular contact with your customers - as a rule of thumb, at least every three to four months - is probably the most powerful strategy you can employ to grow sales and profits.  Customers want to feel cared for.  If you don't show them that care, someone else will.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>