3 Ways to Retain Your Holiday Customers in December and Beyond

27 Nov 3 Ways to Retain Your Holiday Customers in December and Beyond

Retaining the new customers you pick up during Black Friday and the pre Christmas period can be crucial to long term success and growth.

The mistake that most businesses make is focusing on the sales of Black Friday alone as a seasonal period of increased revenue, when an even better strategy is to think about making all those purchases into long term repeat customers.

A retained customer is much cheaper to market to than a new customer and it can be fairly simple to improve this area of your marketing strategy.

Improving customer service and post-purchase user experiences, creating referral programs, and cross selling related products are key to transforming your one off sales customers into long term brand advocates.

Here’s how to make the most of this massive opportunity.

1. Cross Sell Other Products

When customers have already bought from you and have an interest in a product category, it is an opportune moment to cross sell them other products that could fit their needs. You can use email marketing to showcase other products, add related products on the check out pages, or use retargeting to reach customers with related products via online advertising and social posts. You could also consider creating bundles of similar products to increase the volume of sales you achieve.

Much of a cross selling strategy can be automated and programmed ahead of time so when a certain purchase is made, linked products are recommended in an email sequence, for example.

This personalization works well at making customers feel valued, and shows that you are tailoring products to their interests.

2. Improve the post-purchase experience

Providing excellent customer service can make your customers want to shop with you again and even recommend your business to friends and family.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking once a sale is complete the job has been completed. But post purchase marketing is just as important as your initial customer acquisition campaigns.

Check in with your customers about their purchases, and follow up with related information on how they can get the most out of their purchase and any other complimentary products that could enhance their experience. Staying in touch helps keep your brand in mind for future purchases.

Also ensure that you have clear policies in place for replying to post purchase customer queries so customers feel fully supported when they buy from you.

3. Try a Referral Program

A referral program not only lets you reward and incentivise current customers, but it can be a great tool to help you find new ones. When a family member or friend recommends a product or service it increases the chances their loved ones will buy from you too.

The type of bonuses you offer for each new customer brought in through the referral program is up to you, it could be a monetary value to spend in store, a discount, or free product.

Try out these 3 tips to increase customer retention after the holiday season, and turn single sales purchases into lifelong customers for your brand.

If you would like help with your brand messaging, advertising, and digital marketing in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Seattle, Washington, and everywhere in between, get in touch with Visual Caffeine to learn how we can help you.