Getting new customers into a business is one thing, but keeping them coming back for more is another thing altogether. Reaching out to customers and giving them something to interact with, whether on social media or somewhere else, is a great way to get old customers’ attention. Who knows? By getting old customers to come back, you may get them to bring friends and family members to your business– organically generating a whole new customer base!
Send Out Newsletters
One of the oldest and most effective things a business owner can do to reach out to former customers is to send out an email newsletter. This is a form of email marketing that business owners can use to tell old customers about any new changes within the business. This can be something as simple as getting a new product to something as complex as a business going through a change in ownership. For the most part, email newsletters are usually used to promote sales. They often include colorful images and bold text to grab and keep the customer’s attention.
Of course, to run any sort of email campaign, a business owner is going to need to collect email addresses from their customers. There are a couple of ways to do this. The fastest and easiest way is for business owners to buy email addresses online, but this will mostly reach out to new customers, rather than recurring ones. To get emails from new customers, business owners can encourage customers to sign up with their email when they shop online or in-store. Customers might need an incentive to do this, such as the business offering a discount or another reward.
Keep an Updated Business Social Media Page
Every modern-day business should have some kind of social media presence. If used correctly, a business’s social media page can be used for free (or very inexpensive) advertising. A business’s social media manager can post just about anything he or she wants on a business’s social media page. Pictures, videos, and text prompts are the posts other social media users tend to interact with the most.
Of course, some social media platforms are better for businesses than others. Some of the most popular social media platforms, as of 2022, include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, in that order. Business owners can use these platforms to reach existing customers by inviting them to like and subscribe to the business’s profile. If all works out as it should, customers will share the business’s posts on their own pages, which effectively works as free advertising.
Offer Special Loyalty Rewards
Offering returning customers exclusive offers and rewards is a great way to get them to come back to a business. There is no one thing that businesses need to offer customers in order for it to count as a reward. However, there are a few things that work better as rewards than others.
Giving returning customers early access to new products is a great way to reward them for their loyalty. These products can be just about anything. To do this, businesses will first need customers to sign up for a loyalty program. Easy ways to offer this service include asking customers to join when they check out in store or online and providing a link for customers to join through the business’s newsletter.
Offering discounts or other coupons is another great way for a business to reward its customers. These discounts are usually provided via codes to used at checkout. The codes can be words to type in when checking out online or a printed or digital barcode to scan when buying something in person.
If a business treats its customers right by offering decent prices and great customer service, then customers are almost sure to keep coming back. Adding email newsletters, discounts, early access, and an improved social media presence are just more ways to improve the odds that customers will use your business again and again.