In theory, if we treat customers well in our business, come across as likeable and offer good service at a good price, they should become repeat customers. But that is not always the case. In fact, how many times have you had a great shopping experience in a clothing shop and then, another day, decided to go to a different one? Have you ever bought something on Amazon from a particular seller, received a good product and good service, and later bought from another seller without first checking what the one you had already used was offering?
As entrepreneurs, to understand our customers’ minds, or the “reasons” behind what they do, we should look at ourselves, because before being entrepreneurs, we are also customers of many other products throughout the day.
See also: The 5 rules for succeeding in business, and staying successful
Every good idea and every bit of good treatment helps bring a customer back, but we can considerably increase our sales and earn customer loyalty if we give them a reason to come back.
To write this article I thought about my everyday life as a user and customer of dozens of products and services of every kind. Here, at least in my own case, are the reasons why I go back, or don’t go back, to a business as a customer, taking as a given that I place enormous value on a good product, good treatment and good service.
Added value
Having some services that don’t make the business any money can bring it indirect earnings. For example, I fill up with petrol almost every day, and for years I always used the same petrol station.
Several weekends, when I went to clean the car and pump up the tyres, I found that the machines at this station were out of order. The first time, I filled up there and went to wash the car at another petrol station. The second time, the same thing, since the machine was still broken.
The third time, to save time, I went straight to the other station to fill up and wash the car. I got into the habit of going to that one because I could do everything at once there.
What added-value services could you offer in your business so that customers come back?
A reason to come back
It is curious that not every business uses this technique, which is probably one of the most effective. In some types of business, such as clothing shops, shoe shops or electronics stores, including those that sell online, hundreds or thousands of customers probably pass through whom you will never see again, unless you give them that reason to come back.
Once, I used a discount coupon for a car service. Business owners who use discount coupons to attract customers sometimes forget to do what is needed to make the coupon strategy work.
In this case, when they had finished servicing my car, the owner of the garage gave me, before I left, a voucher for 30% off any repair or service I might need in the future. The next time I went, when they had finished he gave me another voucher with another discount.
For years, this garage has made a routine of giving us a discount coupon every time we bring the car in. For years he has made sure to give me a reason to come back.
Ten years buying my suits in the same place
I have never considered changing shops for buying suits or formal clothes, because for years, at my usual shop, besides the professionalism of the staff, they have always made sure I have no need to go anywhere else.
The third time I went to that shop, many years ago now, they already knew my tastes: they know I love shirt cufflinks and that I like plain colours in both suits and ties (no stripes at all).
They made sure to keep my details, and every time they have some offers (real ones) or are about to clear out suits or shirts in my size, they usually send me a message in case I want them at a good price.
Although these days the people in that shop are almost like family, the truth is that they knew how to win me over as a customer. And it is probably one of the few shops that is not afraid of new shopping centres or other kinds of stores opening, because they know how to win customers over and give them that reason to come back.
Likewise, we could talk about some huge blunders by business owners that I have witnessed.
Losing more than 450 euros a month in sales for not stocking red tea
Some time ago, all of us at the company used to have breakfast together at a café. Around 15 of us met there for breakfast, and we were already regular customers.
A new colleague started working with us, and when we went to breakfast with her, she ordered red tea. They only had green tea there. On three occasions we went with her and she had to drink green tea. And yes, she might have been a bit fussy, but she liked red tea and said green tea didn’t agree with her.
One day she went to have breakfast at the other café, and so that she wouldn’t be on her own, several colleagues went with her. The next day, when we went for breakfast, she told us: “What you have here, they have over there too. Come to that café, they have red tea.” And that is where we ended up having breakfast every day. I worked out what our daily breakfasts came to, and by not stocking red tea, the owner of the café stopped taking in around 450 euros a month.
One of the Chinese tips for doing business is: “When a customer asks you for something you don’t have, get it, even if you don’t understand why.”
Every business needs to achieve more customers, more sales per customer and bigger sales per customer. We explained this in a previous article: how to sell more in a business.
In short, we could say that if we want a customer to come back, we must give them a reason to come back, and we must never give them a reason not to.
See also: The main mistakes young entrepreneurs make when starting a business
Featured image: К.Артём.1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
