It is that time of year again, Christmas is just around the corner … and it’s time to start thinking about all those customers and how you are going to convert them into “Year-round Raving Fans.”
Most retailers get a massive influx of never seen before customers over the Christmas period. And that’s a massive opportunity, yet most will never see those customers again until next Christmas ... (maybe).
So, here’s how to turn your Christmas shoppers into loyal customers all year round ...
Let’s start at the beginning. Marketing and advertising are more than just getting a customer to buy once and then hoping they’ll come back again. It’s about getting new customers and pro-actively keeping them coming back again and again.
So the question is, how are you going to do this? How are you going to make sure that every customer who buys from you during the Christmas rush comes back again in the New Year?
The biggest excuse I hear from most retailers is, “we don’t have enough time to serve the people, let alone get down their names and addresses.” Let me tell you, you can’t afford not to find out who they are, so you can get them coming back ...
The sales you make at Christmas are just the start of the bonuses you’ll get from the increase in store traffic, if you’re ready to handle it ...
Like a hairdresser I worked with who started to ask every customer if she could call them in 4 weeks to remind them that it’s time to get their hair cut again. Instead of waiting for people to come back she started to get pro-active and increased her turnover by 74% in a matter of 6 weeks ...
A menswear store that enrolled people into a club and gave them a special offer each and every month to come back and buy. They added another 34% to their turnover in the first 2 months. Or, the gift store that did a full weeks trade in 3 hours after writing back to their past customers ...
If you’re already doing this, that’s great, now it’s time to refine it. If not, you’re throwing away a goldmine in lost opportunities.
So, obviously you have to get the names and addresses of your customers. The simplest way to do this is to just ask people for them. You’ll get an even better response if you give people a reason, like special member-only offers, a regular newsletter and anything else you can think of that would give people a reason to become a regular shopper with you.
Just sending people a note that says, “Thanks for buying from us ...” is a great start. It stands out a mile because no one else does it. It’ll bring people back to you, and get them to refer their friends. If you’re not writing to, or communicating with your past customers at least every 90 days you’ve lost all the rapport you built with them to get the first sale.
So, get ready for the increased sales at Christmas, get ready to capture peoples details, and get ready to keep them coming back well into the new year ...