You’ve been working hard at growing your Alison’s Pantry business and you are starting to pick up new customers! Yeah! But, then you notice that you have several new customers who place one order and then never order again. Unless you know the new customer, you haven’t had much time to build a strong relationship with them but there are a few things you can do to get that second and subsequent orders from them.
First, make their initial experience ordering from you an AWESOME one! Make sure you are responding to them in a timely manner. Answer their questions and make sure they understand the ordering process, when their order will be ready (I tell them the week of when I get delivery), and when you expect payment for their order.
Second, when they come to pick up their order, make sure you welcome them warmly with a smile, make sure your business area is clean and organized, get their order ready as quickly as you can, double check their invoice with them to make sure they got everything they ordered and take a few minutes to visit. **Make sure to thank them for placing an order with you, make sure they know about our 100% money back guarantee in case they are unhappy with something they have purchased, make sure they have the next new catalog and customer flyer, and that you have given them any sample product that you are giving out that month. If they have a large order, help them carry their items out to their vehicle or have your children help them. (I put my boys to work with this a lot.)
Then, in a week, follow up with your new customer. A hand-written note will have the most impact according to several blog posts on keeping customers happy, but any type of follow up would be better than none at all. Let them know you hope they are happy with their purchase (you might mention one of the items they bought that you like), remind them of our 100% money back guarantee, and let them know you look forward to helping them with their future needs, and make sure to mention the next order deadline date.
Len Markidan, head of marketing at Groove, stated – “While many people think of customer support (service) as a cost of doing business, the numbers don’t lie: customer support pays off. One Bain study found that increasing customer retention rates by 5% can increase business profits by 25% to 95%.”
If these ideas can help you retain your first-time customers and turn them into long-term customers and increase your sales by even 25%, don’t you think the effort is worth it?!!
Becky Price, RSM