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5 Ways to Encourage Repeat Visits and Returning Customers

by Shai Coggins on February 1st, 2008

Many people spend a lot of time trying to encourage new visitors or customers to their business establishments. But, once they’re there - how do you reel them in? How do you get them to keep wanting more?

So, whether you have an online shop or a weblog where you make money from, here are 5 ways you can encourage visitors and customers to keep coming back:

1) Stay connected. You can offer newsletter or feed subscriptions, occasional mailings, or phone call follow-ups, as a way to stay in the radar. People who visit your online shop or blog will eventually come back and buy from you or offer you leads if you stayed in touch.

What do you offer on your blog or your shop that enable you to stay connected? Do you have subscription buttons or boxes to your mailing lists? Do you collect basic information that can enable you to contact your business network easily?

2) Give them reasons to return again. And again. Offering incentives such as raffles, contests, and fresh, free and useful content are just some of the reasons that visitors and customers return. iYomu, for example, recently introduced a scheme where they offer $100 icons in member inboxes. They offer these icons as an incentive for folks to keep going back to the site and to log in. Just remember that stale sites and shops discourage people to bookmark/subscribe and to return to you.

What kind of programmes do you offer on your blog or shop that encourage people to keep returning as often as possible? Do you update your blog often enough? Do you have new stock coming in regularly?

3) Be interactive! Respond to comments, queries and emails. The sooner you can make contact after folks try to contact you, the better. Get involved in social media. It can make people feel that you’re attentive, reliable, trustworthy, real…

How often do you get comments and emails? Do you respond to them as soon as you can? Name one or two things that you can improve today when it comes to making you and your online business more interactive.

4) Know what people want from you - and give it to them as often as you can. People’s expectations vary, but knowing the general expectations of your visitors and customers is very important. It’ll enable you to serve them better.

Do you hold polls and surveys from your customers and visitors? Do you encourage people to send in feedback forms? Do you make the time to get to know them better? If you can list the top 3 things that your customers/visitors want from you/your business, what are they? Are you serving these needs? How can you better serve them?

5) Provide something unexpected. In a good way, of course. It’s like that advice by Sean Connery from the movie ‘Finding Forrester’ about unexpected gifts at an unexpected time. They always seal the deal. Not just in romance, but in business. So yes - people expect good service. People expect good follow-ups. But, it shouldn’t stop there. There should also be things that you can offer your visitors and customers that they *wish* they had, but do not expect.

Can you name these unexpected and hoped for things? What can you implement in your online business to provide these unexpected gifts? Sometimes, simple things like small freebie gifts or special loyalty discounts can make a difference.

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