Boost your average purchase frequency is the fifth video and article in this series for subscribers only, writes Robert Clay of Marketing Wizdom. And it’s the fourth of six ways you can turbocharge your business results.
Over the past 21 years I have done considerable research into what makes businesses leaders in their niche.
In that time I’ve taught more than 600 established businesses how to harness and apply these principles. And that has enabled them to outsmart the 98% of businesses that don’t. Because it works!!!
My previous video article looked at the third Turbocharger, ways to increase your average spend per sale. That sits nicely with boosting your average purchase frequency.
What if I told you that it costs you the same amount of time, effort and expense to generate a customer who only ever buys from you once. Or who buys once every six months. Or maybe even once a week?
Imagine what you could achieve in your business if you could get that customer who bought from you once a year to come back and buy from you multiple times?
But before I do that let me remind you about all six Turbochargers. I will be covering the remaining ones over the next few articles and videos.
Master any one of the six profit turbochargers and you can achieve significant business growth. Apply your efforts to all six and each one has a compounding effect on the others. That could boost your revenues by 175% to 365%.
So, what is not to like about that!
The Fourth Turbocharger – Increase Your Purchase Frequency
In my first article and video, I touched upon how to double your customers’ purchase frequency. Today, I’ll go through this subject in a little more detail.
It can cost a small fortune to acquire new customers. So once you’ve made that investment you need to do whatever you can to get your customers to come back and do repeat business with you as often as possible.
Depending on your products or services, some customers will buy from you daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Or simply on the odd occasion.
A Rockefeller Foundation study found that customers leave for these reasons:
You need to discover the average purchase frequency for your business. And as soon as you have that information there are plenty of things you can do to get your customers to come back more often. They include:
- selling more often to existing customers and
- selling additional products or services
There are likely to be lots of things you can do to increase your purchase frequency and sell more often to your existing customers. You can also offer new products, services or loyalty schemes. These not only increase your purchase frequency but also encourage your customers to come back more often.
Starbucks, for example, regularly add seasonal foods and drinks and some of them have a cult following. People look forward to the arrival of their pumpkin spice latte every autumn. And the Starbucks loyalty card also sets the benchmark for effective loyalty schemes. It massively increases purchase frequency.
How to Engage With Your Customers
The key to increasing your customers’ purchase frequency is ‘Customer engagement’ and there are several ways to achieve the desired result.
Let me give you a few examples…
One of my clients, a bespoke tailor from Savile Row in London found that his customers bought something from him every time they came in. But the problem was that typically only bought a bespoke suit only once every 2–3 years.
He needed more opportunities to sell to his customers. The answer emerged from a casual conversation. He’d voiced concerns about clients getting their bespoke suits ruined by dry cleaners. I asked if he knew of a really good dry cleaner. And yes he did. There was one just around the corner.
Free Dry Cleaning for Life
The solution to the problem was simple. The tailor did a deal with the dry cleaner. He offered his customers free dry cleaning for life, with every bespoke suit. All the customer had to do was bring it back to the shop.
Customers LOVED the idea. It brought them back in 2–3 times a year instead of once every 2–3 years. And when they dropped off their suit for cleaning they’d always get into conversation and buy something else. Sometimes it was another bespoke suit. Other times it was designer jeans. And on other occasions they might buy a cashmere sweater or a casual jacket.
This increased purchase frequency boosted the tailor’s business massively. It kept the tailor at the forefront of his customers’ minds for repeat purchases. And that enabled him to build better relationships. These repeated interactions gave him the opportunity to keep an eye on wear and tear, replacing loose buttons etc., free of charge. Thus he added even more value.
Sometimes, like the tailor, you just need to think outside the box in order to create more opportunities to interact with your customers. And that in turn can increase your purchase frequency.
So can you think of any strategic partnerships that for a minimal outlay would be beneficial to your customers? Can you think of any that would increase your purchase frequency?
What other products or services can you offer that would complement your main product or service? What else could you do to increase your revenues and purchase frequency. How else could you capitalise on your original customer acquisition cost?
What if Your Product Is Not an Obvious Want or Need?
How do you go about creating the desire for what you have to offer?
Here’s how one company approached this issue…
A small candle manufacturer typically sold candles to housewives for special occasions. The business was profitable but had plateaued at £600K. In order to grow the business they needed to do something more to increase purchase frequency.
They spent time considering who their customers were and their purchasing behaviour patterns. Then they decided to run a targeted email campaign promoting special holidays and occasions such as:
- birthdays
- weddings
- anniversaries
- romantic dinners etc.
By getting under the nose of their customers at the right time, they created opportunities when their customers were receptive to buying.
Following up at later dates with bounce back offers and loyalty schemes created regular interactions. It also kept them at the forefront of their customers minds.
This in turn created a level of convenience that kept their customers coming back on a regular basis.
It levelled out their peaks and troughs. And their increased purchase frequency, grew their client base by 5% over the next 12 months, while also doubling their overall revenues.
Create a Communications Calendar
Further to this you should consider creating a communications calendar to continuously engage with your customers. It initiates dialogue. And it aids the development of more personal interactions in order to build customer loyalty.
A communications calendar is a programmed sequence of:
- blog posts
- emails
- letters
- newsletters
- videos
- events
- phone calls
- thank you’s
- special offers
- follow-ups
- magic moments, and
- cards or notes with a personal touch
Do it well and you’ll certainly increase your average purchase frequency.
You can also offer price inducements for regular repeat business. And there are dozens of other things to increase purchase frequency.
Consider this: If you could get your customers to come back twice as often, you’d increase your purchase frequency. And you wouldn’t need a single new customer to double your revenue.
Now that’s something to think about!
How Often Do Your Customers Buy From You Each Year? Please Comment Below
In what ways do you or could you increase your average purchase frequency? What could you do to sell more to your existing customers? What additional products or services could you offer to increase your purchase frequency? Please share them with us in a comment below.
Please also comment if you’ve found this article on increasing your average purchase frequency helpful. And if you have any of your own ideas, insights, perspectives and experiences to contribute, please add your comment below.
And let us know below if you have any questions relating to increasing your average purchase frequency. Or if there are any specific topics you’d like us to cover in future articles.
I’m Robert Clay. Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to sharing the fifth turbocharger with you in my next article and video.
Please share your thoughts and add your questions to the comments below. I’ll try to provide as many answers as possible in my future online videos, seminars, workshops, masterclasses and blog posts.
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