Using Special Offers and Discounts to Improve Customer Retention
Improving customer retention provides amazing benefits to your business. Getting your existing customers to stick around is cheaper than obtaining new customers, so it pays to work on customer loyalty. One of the ways you can improve customer retention is by extending special offers and discounts to your customers. You can use a range of methods to do this, offering different types of special offers that appeal to different types of customer. There are pros and cons of using special offers to improve customer loyalty, so you need to get it right. Try these tips to use the right techniques to get your customers to keep coming back.
Create Offers for Both New and Existing Customers
New customers are often drawn in by special offers. But once they have made their first purchase or signed up to your service, the offers then dry up. While new customers get the benefits of discounts and more, loyal customers who have stuck around for longer feel like they get a bad deal. If you want customers to keep coming back, make sure you create offers for existing customers and not just new ones. They should be rewarded for coming back and not just for choosing you once.
Extend Different Types of Offer
There are many different types of special offers and discounts that you can offer to your customers. You could send them discount codes to save on specific products or all purchases. You can offer free perks such as free postage and packaging, or you can include free extras with every purchase. Consider which types of offers are best-suited to your audience. If you're not sure, you can ask your customers which types of offers they would respond to most. You can also research more generally to find out which offers are more effective.
Use Different Channels to Give Special Offers
When you extend special offers to your customers, consider using different channels to let them know about your offers. You can even have offers specific to each channel, which will mean that different segments of your audience feel like they're getting an exclusive deal. Use a mass text app to extend an offer through SMS messages, giving customers a discount code to use online or even quote in-store. Send your newsletter subscribers an exclusive code or link that they can use or even include a special offer in the orders you mail to your customers.
For instance, MIKOL provides a buy get one free bracelet time to time on their website
Offer a Reward Program
A reward program can keep people coming back again and again. If they get rewarded for each purchase that they make, they will be incentivized to keep making purchases. They might get a sticker or a tick on their customer record when they buy something, and they can then claim something when they have collected enough (such as a free item). Or they could collect points that they can later redeem against their future purchases.
Special offers are a good way to improve customer retention for your business. However, make sure you assess the pros and cons of special offers before creating one.
