What’s the secret to generating repeat sales once a new customer has made a purchase? Often, it’s as simple as asking permission to add them to a mailing list and keeping them informed of special offers and discounts. Sometimes, though, it takes educating them about your products and your industry, or the range of problems that can be solved by your services, to turn an impulse buy into a customer for life.
One of the tools of the trade that we’ve found instrumental in creating customer loyalty is the post-purchase survey. A survey conducted online, via email, or by phone immediately after a sale not only cements brand loyalty, but can also increase sales and boost your bottom line.
Surveys help small businesses to:
- Make customers feel that their opinion is valued
- Make customers aware of discounts or services they might have missed
- Solicit feedback and advice for future offerings
- Make clients feel more connected with your company so they are likelier to return
- Identify dissatisfied customers and provide what they need to give you another try
- Pinpoint happy customers who may provide word-of-mouth referrals
One simple way to attract all kinds of new and returning business is to ask customers whether they would recommend your product to a friend. Those who say “probably” or “yes” can also be put on a list to receive a follow-up email asking them to recommend you.
Whether you send an email that can be forwarded along to other potential clients or use another method, such as a postcard or telemarketing call, clients who refer their friends aren’t just creating new clients for you—they’re also reminding themselves, in the process, that they value your product enough to buy again.