How to Get Your Customers in The Habit of Buying

One sell does not make a successful business. But repeat business is cornerstone to maintaining a viable chance at business success. Here’s how to get your customers in the habit of buying from you over and over again

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Time, ingenuity and effort.

1. Get your customers to buy something (anything) from you.
   
   Even more important than repeated sells and larger purchase orders is enticing customers to buy immediately. The business-client relationship can’t start until an actual first-time purchase occurs.
   
   • Ask for the sell and make buying easy.
   • Offer introductory pricing for first-time purchasers.
   • Offer a free gift to first-time purchasers.
   • Offer incentives such as discounts on future purchases.
   • Offer guarantees
   • Make returning simple.

2. Discover whether or not your customers perceive your business the way you intend your business to be perceived.
   • Ask questions related to the general perception of your business.
   • Start a blog and open up lines of honest communication.
   • Value unsolicited advice and opinion from customers.
   Misconceptions between what your business is and what your customers believe your business to be is detrimental to sells and repeated business.

3. Go after the competition's customers.
   
   Customers of your competition are good game. Go after them with your product or service. Get that first-time purchase under your belt with the competition's customers and then strategise on how to keep them on your team.
   • Make comments in forums where competition frequents.
   • Where competition goes, so should you.

4. Pay attention to your customers.
   
   They’re the single most important asset of your business. Without customers buying your product or service you have no business. It’s important to know all about your customer's buying habits. Once you know and understand those habits it’s easier to strategise about continually steering those habits toward purchasing with you.
   • How do they prefer to send/receive feedback: telephone, online, chats or letters?
   • What prompts customer feedback? Complaints, praise or confusion?
   • Which products garner the most questions and answers?
   • What are the demographics of your customers?

5. Make customers feel they’re part of your business successes and failures by making them believe those successes and failures are tied to their lives. Make customers believe your business depends on the business relationship.
   • In annual reports, praise customers, demonstrate how they affect your bottom line.
   • Demonstrate on websites, company newsletters and other company media forms customer's value to the business and relevance to their personal lives.
   • Demonstrate your product or service making a difference in the community.

6. Keep your product/services fresh in your customer’s mind.
   
   Customers have short-term memories, especially with so many businesses competing for their attention.
   • Update business internet sources and sites often.
   • Develop enticing promotions which remind and encourage action.
   • Don't spam. Remain relevant and useful in marketing.
   • Post video product demonstrations.
   
   • Hold an annual(or more frequent) meeting, which invites customer participation. Make it an event. Each year, Warren Buffet shareholders attend the annual Berkshire Hathaway stockholder's meeting. It's an event. In fact, some invest in the stock, simply to get an invite to the meeting.

7. Value your customer’s privacy and security.
   
   More than ever before customers are concerned with personal safety online and off. Reassure your customers that your business operates under moral and ethical constraints.
   • Post a privacy policy that’s easy to find and understand.
   • Display secure website certificates
   • Utilize merchant providers that are familiar such as Pay Pal.
   • During the order process don't request unnecessary information.

8. Build trust through transparency and honest communication.
   Make sure your customers are able to get relevant business, and in some cases, personal information about your business easily.
   • Write a straight-forward “about” page which is conversational.
   • Post photos of employees and management online.
   Keep it simple. Customers don’t want an unnecessary sales pitch and convoluted information when attempting to make a buying decision.

[missval7]

on 7/28/2009 This is an excellent article. All points are so important to a business' success! 5*

[lordjeffrey]

on 7/20/2009 This is an incredibly good and detailed article. Great tips. One thing a company near my house does, a wine store my wife and I belong to, is have a monthly "club". We pop in once a month and pick up our "club discount" wine, and its waiting for us every time we show up. This ensures a steady revenue stream for the company, and is somewhat recession-resistant because a lot of people will just not bother to cancel their club subscription. 5 stars, and a big 'recommend' for a great article.