Forum Moderators: buckworks
No catalog of widgets, little info on how to order more widgets, or widget polish, or how to give widgets to friends. No freebie gift such as a fridge magnet or pen imprinted with the site's url. Newbie sellers assume that buyers won't need another widget if they just bought one. Wrong!
By and large, the most likely person to buy a widget on Tuesday is someone who bought one on Monday. That is a FACT that eludes 95% of sellers. Example: buy a camera on Monday, you'll surely be buying accessories and film immediately. You're even likely to buy ANOTHER camera on Tuesdays...especially if you're a professional photographer.
Hasn't every web retailer had this experience: A customer phones to change his red widget to a blue one and casually mentions: "Why don't you add a second one to my order."
Recently, we've been including a printed mini-catalog of our products with online orders. The early results have been promising. In time we'll test discount coupons or some gift-with-purchase deal. It costs virtually nothing to throw this stuff in the box.
What are you including with the package to increase repeat sales? Follow up phone calls? Coupons by regular mail? Other ideas? (I'm looking for ideas aside from email campaigns that most of us do)
My sales are slow to start but the few orders I have had I've done just what you suggested. A few extra freebies thrown in the box and a suggestive email about ways I can help them in the future. I've had my customers email me basically to say they would like to take me up on my offer and could I do something special/custom for them. I would also like to hear of other ideas from people.
When you buy online, what sort of after-the-sale gimmicks are major online sellers using these days to get you to buy again?
I note that I'm still using the mousepad that came with my Gateway machine three years ago. What a great giveaway: Cheap, unbreakable, feather-light for shipping, used everyday for three years (!), and it advertises "Gateway.com" in large type for me and visitors to see!
On the other hand, my son's week-old Dell didn't include any freebies.
Although the previous post may have bought a dell I bet he/she checked the previous suppliers site for prices so alls not lost.
It's a marketing/money making technique that I think a lot of pure plays miss out on. You should be approaching your vendors and saying, "Hey listen, I sell your widgets and I bet you would like the people who buy your widgets to come back and buy more. How about you give me some flyers/mousepads/pens/coupons/etc. to put in the package and pay me $X amount of dollars to do it (because it your time and money putting the effort out)?"
You can do it with complimentary, non-competative companies too. (e.g. you sell cameras, you place a flyer in for a company that sells film if you don't sell film)
Most companies will be thrilled to participate. And, there is a good chance the customer will come back to buy from you but if not, you still made money. No package leaves our warehouse without an insert of some kind.
The company that you bought from didn't pay to put those mouse pads in your orders, they got PAID by the company on the mouse pad to put them in your orders.
And didn't Gateway abandon the UK market because they couldn't make enough money? If in the UK or another country where Gateway closed, that could be a reason why they chose Dell the next time. But the advertising was still there, still working.
Karl
My guess is that people who often shop online keep lots of boxes around for returns. Good advertising. Similarly, my wife holds on to nice plastic shopping bags forever. Very stylish to wear a Wal-Mart bag as an impromtu rain hat.
Gateway paid Gateway for the mouse mat?
That's how it works here. Don't know about gateway. If I want to have an insert for the website go into the boxes that leave our warehouse, I have to "pay" the warehouse what they would charge another outside company to put it in. It comes out of my marketing budget. It sounds silly but the fact of the matter is that they may make more money off of it if an outside vendor wants to pay more than me to have an insert or gift in that box.
I have tried a bunch of things. All worked moderately well:
Just treat your customers as though they matter as much as they really do ... and you'll figure out ways to get them to come back again and again! :)
If these tips produce repeat customers, do you find that they also help you to retain them? If you didn't add in a free sticker, mouse-pad etc, would the customer still come back based on your level of service, competitive pricing and products offered etc etc?
When I started selling with a cart I was quite dubious of that. After all, the web is a huge place; we have hundreds of competitors. Our prices intentionally aren't the lowest.
In 1999 the Wall Street Journal described ecommerce thusly: "1)Site spends $100 to get customer; 2)Customer spends $50; 3)And he never comes back."
For many 1999 dot-coms, the WSJ's comment had some truth.
But many of us here spend only $10 to get a customer who spends $100 and does come back to buy more. A few buy over and over. Maybe 30% of our buyers buy again. That's where the profit is!
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Frankly I'm puzzled why more WebmasterWorlders aren't posting on this vital subject. Yet, the most arcane tech topic can draw dozens of comments!
Service, service,service!
Exactly!
A few more tips:
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No doubt!
We thought about a large text field for special instructions. But we worried that we'd get too many "impossible" instuctions such as "Deliver only on Thursdays," for example.
Then we'd have to contact the customer which is often difficult.
Instead we have a phone number on every page for contacting us.
A lot of times it is a message about adding a gift tag, or upgrading shipping, but I definitely find it a very helpful thing to have. It also helps logistically by keeping all relevant info in one place and not spread out over emails and conversation.
Shipping times are super important. I am based in the UK, but 95% of my customers live or ship to addresses in the US. When the product arrives quickly they are really surprised and email back saying how impressed they are etc etc.
Also I find that if something goes wrong, and order is late, something is out of stock or some other problem, the customer, more often than not, appreciates being informed. I think it makes them feel like they are in the loop and have a say. By being transparent it creates trust. Trust creates repeat visitors.
In my opinion, it's true that you can get repeat customers by sending out newsletters, sending them free stuff etc. But if you get a customer who's order is held up, let them know and work it out with them. Most times they will be super impressed with your service and recommend you to their friends / family. These can often be your most staunch of supporters.
Liane is spot on, "Service, service, service"
my 2p and imho of course.
Sell consumables
"consumables are consumed in the regular, routine use of a particular item." Cigarettes & lighters for smokers, food for eaters, film and batteries for photographers, fuel for drivers, printer ink for printers.
Sell regularly repurchased items.
Items that are bought repeatedly though not perhaps consumed in the most basic way. Vehicle road tax (UK), window cleaning, car servicing, toys for parents with children, books for readers etc, annual subscriptions.
As already said customer service matters.
There is no point spending time and money to acquire a customer if other parts of your operation are sub standard.
Price, delivery, quality, reliability, credibility and trust must achieve suitable standards otherwise you wont retain your customers.
Gimmicks will not help if the basics are not in harmony.
On gimmicks :-), at a recent uk online for business meeting I was given a small bag load of gimmicky branded freebies, mouse mats, wrist steadies, memo pads, some more expensive all sorts of things.
After some moments reflection during which my blood boiled about my tax pounds being so typically spent this incredibly valuable way they found their home in my rubbish bin, with the exception of a poly moulded mobile phone desk holder and some chewie sweeties.
But the sweeties will not last long :-)
