Often, business owners mistakenly chase new leads without considering resources and opportunities that are already in front of them.
If you have a website and you’re focusing only on getting new visitors, you’re probably missing the opportunity to get business from your current visitors. It’s much easier to get someone to buy from you who has already done business with you in the past, so that’s what you should concentrate your efforts on. Read on to discover how to turn visitors into buying customers and past customers into recurring customers.
Make it Easy
This is where branding comes into play. If someone visits your website and is impressed with your presentation and what you offer, they need a way to find you again when they decide to buy or acquire more information from you. In order for them to do this, you need to have a discernable banner/design that’s memorable enough that they can easily find you in the future. Likewise, having an easy URL they can remember can be helpful. You can even encourage them to bookmark your page through a popup or the like.
A Mailing List
Better yet, get them to join a mailing list or newsletter. This will guarantee they will receive frequent updates from you and will gently remind them to visit your website. In addition, updates allow you to reach out to subscribers with specific offers of interest based on your previous interactions with them. Lead capture is an important aspect of your online presence, so don’t overlook its significance.
90% OF CONSUMERS CHECK THEIR EMAIL ONCE A DAY OR MORE
67% OF TWITTER USERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BUY FROM BRANDS THEY ARE FOLLOWING ON TWITTER
EMAIL MARKETING HAS AN ROI OF 4,300%
Social Media
Similar to a mailing list is a social media account. By using a Twitter or Facebook account, you can keep your customers up-to-date and provide yourself with a way to stay in touch with customers well after they leave your website.
Providing Value
Another good strategy is to ensure that your website itself provides value which most companies try to achieve through a blog. Create a blog for your site so there will be useful content for your visitors to come back and read. If your website is only used as an advertisement, customers won’t return to your site unless they want to buy something.
Deals and Special Offers
Running a special offer is a great way to increase your business for a period while possibly gaining some free marketing at the same time. Keep in mind that this provides a good reason for your visitors to check in frequently. By mentioning your promotion in a Tweet, you’ll find that it attracts several of your previous visitors back to your site who may have initially been interested in some of your products but didn’t have the money to make a purchase on a previous visit. Consider offering promotions for special occasions such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday too.
Tell Them to Come Back
Sometimes the best techniques are the most obvious: simply request that your visitors return to your site. This could literally just be a case of including a message at the end of your content, requesting that they ‘please visit again soon’ or reminding them of the frequency your website is updated or to check back for special deals and offers from time to time. Even if they ignore your request at first, you’ve at least planted the idea that they should keep you in mind.
Use a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program is a fantastic way to get your customers to come back time after time. Here, you offer discounts and other bonuses to get past customers who have used your services or bought products from you; thus, giving them a reason to choose you over your competition. It’s also a common fact that people are addicted to watching their points add up and will often do what is necessary so those points will continue to grow.
Create a Social Element
At the time of writing this, Facebook is the third most popular site on the net. What makes it so popular? That would be the fact that people can have conversations with friends on topics they find interesting.
Basically, social interactions keep people coming back to see responses to their comments and posts as well as to continue those discussions. Simply adding a comments section on your site, then, can be a great way to create a community around your business that builds loyalty in a big way.
Make Them Feel a Part of Your Business
Using the web is a great way to get people involved in your business and to help them feel like a part of it. Therefore, your customers play an important role in your success, making them much more likely to come back to spread the word as a result.
What does this mean? Well, you might need to outsource ideas. You might consider having a contest. Or it may involve answering questions to engage with your audience. Even giving free t-shirts to people can make them feel as if they’re a part of your ‘movement’, causing them to support you as a result. This is also another very good reason to invest time in social elements.
63% OF PEOPLE FOLLOW SMALL BUSINESSES TO SHOW THEIR SUPPORT ON TWITTER
Leave an Impression
Most important of all though is simply to ensure you leave the right impression on your visitors and your customers. This means building a website that loads quickly, looks great and is easy to navigate.
More than anything else, you’re ensuring that your customers’ experience with you is outstanding in the best ways possible. Give your packaging serious thought. Perhaps you could take the under-promise/ over-deliver approach in terms of shipping. How about including a free item with their order or sending an individualized message that includes their name and a custom thank you for the particular item they purchased? These small details set amazing companies apart from average companies and build customer loyalty. Show you care about your business and about your customers, and you’ll find they will reciprocate!
