Earning a new customer is difficult! That's why it is so important to convert first-time customers into repeat customers. Greater frequency of purchase and increased average cart values from existing customers will not only sustain a store but give it outsized growth every owner dreams of.

Cultivating repeat business comes down to valuable communication, great products or services, excellent support, and incentives like coupons, exclusive offers, and appealing flash sales. To make repeat purchases a habit for customers, it pays to know what levers to pull and when to pull them. From how you offer support to how you use video in your follow-up emails, here are some proven tactics for generating repeat business.

The "Why" Behind Repeat Customers

The best way to know how to create repeat customers for your online store starts with understanding why people become repeat customers. People become repeat customers for many reasons, but some of the most common are satisfaction, social acceptance, and brand affinity.

When customers are satisfied with their purchase, they are more likely to return and buy again. This is because they have had a positive experience and they want to recapture that feeling. Satisfied customers are also more likely to recommend your store to others, which can lead to even more business.

Social acceptance is another reason people become repeat customers. We are social creatures and we want to be accepted by our peers. When we buy something, we want to be seen as part of the group that uses that product. This is why it's so important for businesses to create a community around their brand. By creating a sense of belonging, businesses can encourage customers to come back and buy again.

Brand affinity is when people identify with a brand and its values. This is often the result of great marketing that resonates with people on a personal level. When people feel connected to a brand, they are more likely to become repeat customers.

There are many other reasons why people become repeat customers, but these are some of the most common. Now that we understand why people become repeat customers, let's look at how to encourage them to come back and buy from you again.

Proven Tactics for Cultivating Repeat Buyers for your Online Store

If you want to know how to get customers to come back and buy from you again, it isn't as difficult as you may think. By focusing on a few key areas, you can create an experience that will encourage repeat business and turn one-time buyers into lifelong fans. Let's start with three must-haves if you hope to create repeat buyers. Communication, great products or services, and excellent support. We will follow that with a discussion of incentives and offers and personalized messaging through the use of Windsor videos.

Communication is key

The first step to encouraging repeat business is ensuring that you are communicating effectively with your customers. This means being responsive to questions and concerns, providing helpful information and updates, and generally keeping the lines of communication open.

Communicating about the business through email sequences and follow-ups is essential. Sending Happy Birthday emails, thank you messages or messages announcing a new feature are just a few examples. Regular communication with customers is a valuable way to keep your online store top of mind. Customers have a near-infinite number of choices when it comes to where they spend their time, attention, and hard-earned money. Keeping your brand in your customers' line of sight is important.

Additionally, communication is a two-way street. Make it easy for customers to get in touch with you by placing your store contact information somewhere easy to find. If you can provide an onsite chat tool or even take phone calls, all the better. Failing that, make submitting a ticket or contact form easy and intuitive.

Have a great product offering

Obviously, if your products or services are not up to par, customers are not going to want to come back and buy from you again. Make sure that you are offering quality products or services that meet customer needs and expectations.

By the very nature of making their first purchase, the customer expressed that they like at least one thing that your store offered. Having a catalog of related products that either suit the same taste or solve similar problems can unlock the potential of repeat orders.

Another great way to drive repeat purchases? Recurring or subscription fees. Charging customers even a few dollars a month for access to content, exclusive offers, or your core service adds up in a hurry. For software companies, this business model is very popular. For companies selling goods like makeup, clothes, or coffee subscriptions can also be a boon.

Provide excellent support

In addition to offering great products or services, it's important to provide excellent customer support. This means being available to answer questions, help with problems, and generally provide a positive experience.

Excellent support gives customers confidence in your business. They know that in the event of a problem you will take the appropriate action to solve their problem. But great support is not just about helping with an exchange, refund, or return. Great support can also mean recommending an additional product or service the customer will like. Support is about making sure your customer is satisfied with their purchase. It's only logical that increased customer satisfaction would mean increased customer engagement. And that engagement should lead to more orders.

Offer incentives

Now we are getting into the meat and potatoes of turning customers into repeat shoppers. A great way to encourage repeat business is to offer incentives like coupons, discounts, and sales. In fact, most eCommerce stores offer coupons, sales, flash deals, and exclusive collections to customers to incentivize them to keep coming back (and buying more)!

Incentives and discounts are not just about money. When a customer receives a coupon code, free shipping, or early access to something for sale, they feel important. This virtuous cycle serves both the online store and the customer. The customer feels flattered or appreciated. This feeling often leads to making a purchase they otherwise might not have been considering.

Use video in your follow-up emails

Video can be an extremely powerful tool to help drive repeat sales. It can help show customers that you value their business and that you are invested in their experience. Additionally, video can be a great way to show off your products or services and highlight the features and benefits that might lead to a customer making a purchase. Finally, video can help build relationships with customers and establish a connection that might encourage them to make repeat purchases.

Because Windsor videos can be customized with your customer's name, the products they purchased, or any personal detail you care to include, your video messages can be specific to just them. This type of message resonates far greater than a text-based, templated email. By using Windsor video, you can create a 1:1 connection with each customer.

Videos also allow you to show off products in a dynamic way. For example, if you sell tools then a video allows you to show the tool in action so the customer can easily understand how it works and how the tool is used. By their very nature, photographs and text do not deliver nearly the same depth of information about a product as a video does. Even more, customers appreciate more information about what you offer, not less. The use of video to highlight what you offer increases the chance of more sales, including sales to existing customers.

Finally, when combining a Windsor video with the messaging types above, your messages become a competitive advantage. With Windsor, you can address a customer by name, show them a product you think they'll enjoy, and explain why in a way specific to them and their needs or tastes. Even better, Windsor makes such interaction possible at scale. Whether you have one customer or one thousand (or more), Windsor can create a personalized video for each of them in a matter of moments.

Making Repeat Purchases a Habit for Customers

It's clear that there are a number of things you can do to increase the chances of customers making repeat purchases from your store. Providing great communication and support, offering incentives, and creating personalized videos with Windsor are all great ways to show customers that you appreciate their business and want them to keep coming back. Additionally, using video allows you to showcase your products in a dynamic way that might lead to more sales. Finally, by personalizing each customer interaction with Windsor, you create a connection that encourages customers to come back and buy again.

Earning a new customer is difficult, but it's only the beginning. The real challenge is turning that first-time customer into a lifelong, loyal customer who not only buys from you again and again but also recommends your business to others. To do this, you need to understand what motivates customers to buy from you in the first place and then find ways to keep them coming back. The tactics above provide the necessary foundation for doing just that.

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