We’ve conducted over 30 Panel of Peers workshops this year, meeting many new people and learning a lot about the buying behavior of their consumers.
One of the major challenges is the one time buyer – the shopper who comes in due to a lower price and then never returns. We see the steps necessary to get them back; it all starts with the establishment of a program to convert the one-time buyer into a regular shopper.
The first step is to thank them regardless of the number of past purchases. Second, focus on creating a dialogue to engage your recipients and entice them to return, here are some tips:
1) Insist on Feedback – Ask for their feelings about the product/ service, ask for a quote and get them to rank your offers. When you get their feedback, make sure you thank them and remind them that their feedback helps you improve your process and find better products/ services for them.
2) Ask for Opinions – Request their opinion on related products or services, this is a way to remind them about your depth of offers and is a neat way to show that you could be their source for those products/ services going forward.
3) Offer a Two-Part coupon – Provide an instant use coupon and give them the second part to redeem within a certain number of weeks. If possible, send an email to remind them of the expiration of this second part coupon.
Recency is key, so be sure to leverage your bonding programs to create engagement and routinely offer email incentives to make one-time buyers more frequent. With a little luck, you can make the repeat purchase a little more likely.
