Beyond The Sale: The Extra Miles that Convert One-Time Buyers into Lifelong Customers

By Emin Kara | October 24, 2023

In a conversation with one of my mentors, he said something that really stuck with me: “People won’t care about you until they realize how much you care.” Let that marinate for a minute, and apply it to your business. How much do you care about your customers? How do you reward them? Do your eyes fill with dollar signs when they walk through the door, or do you think about how to make their experience as memorable as possible?

Today, I want to give you some ideas on how to retain your customers, because as Dan Kennedy (one of my favorite marketers of all time) said, “A buyer, is a buyer, is a buyer.” So, what happens when they stop? Well, hopefully, you’ll never have to deal with that after this article. 

Warm vs Cold: The most valuable asset to any business is warm leads/customers. Those are people who already know about you, and you should spend every waking moment finding a reason to retain them. Cold leads are also just as valuable when you know how to talk to them. The intersection between the two is figuring out the best way to provide them with free value. You need to go above and beyond. 

Going Above And Beyond: My favorite strategy, and one of the ways I retain my clients, is going above and beyond for them. Don’t just do everything you lay out in the package they sign up for. Provide extra value, and not just little gestures either. Really find ways to surprise them and show them that they are valued! 

Personalize Your Services: Deep personalization is key in any sales journey, and, no, we’re not talking about some software where you can insert first names to make it seem personalized. We’re talking about genuine personalization. Whether you have sales teams or online registration, every step of the way there should be data-gathering sections that contain the little things. For example, preference of room temperature, room arrangements, dietary preferences, etc. 

Here’s where this starts getting really cool. Imagine you owned a restaurant. As we move forward, operational functions are becoming more digital, to the point that physical menus are being abolished in favor of QR Codes. What if you sent customers to your app to order food, and in the setup of their profile, it took their dietary restrictions? The menu would automatically arrange and show the options available to their dietary needs, making it easier for the customer to make a buying decision. I’ve never seen that done, so if you implement it, let me know how it goes! 

Warm Welcomes & Farewells: Most hotels already do this, but let’s take it a step further. In the hotels I stay at, there is usually a welcome package in my room waiting for me. It’s a nice touch, don’t get me wrong, but what would make it even more personalized and special is if someone came to my room and personally handed me the gift to welcome me. By doing it this way, you take the staged element out of it and go the extra mile. You would use the same concept with the farewells. 

Another pro tip: the welcome package should be something that you know the guest will use and should be an informed decision based on customer data. For example, you wouldn’t want to give someone who is pro-animals a complimentary shampoo that has been tested on animals.

Surprise Elements: I’ve always been a fan of little surprises. Here’s what I mean: if I owned an establishment that sold coffee, instead of writing their name on the cup, I’d use stencils to powder their name on top of the coffee. I’d also add a little message, for example, “Good Morning *Insert Name*.” Little surprise elements like that mean a lot to customers. This is also a fantastic way to generate UGC. 

Seeking & Acting on Feedback: A lot of places already store feedback, but I’ve never seen an email sent to the person after the feedback has been given. My approach would be to ask for feedback, and if you choose to implement what the customer says, then send a follow-up email to the customer and have it read something like this:

“Hey (Name), we really appreciated your feedback and we wanted to let you know what we’ve done about it so far:” Then, proceed to list out the changes made based on their feedback. 

You would follow that with: “Because we really value the time you took to tell us what needed improving so other guests can have an even better experience, we’ve decided to reward you with X amount of dollars off your next visit and/or Y.” 

This shows that you respect their time, you appreciate them as a customer and you’re actively seeking to improve your business to make it a better experience for customers! Plus, you’re giving them an incentive to return.

Loyalty Programs: These are one of the oldest methods known to man, but they’re incredibly effective if you do them correctly! What I mean is, don’t insult someone’s loyalty by giving them a cheap reward that doesn’t measure up to the loyalty they serve your business. Go above and beyond! I’ve spoken about this before, but the luxury UK retailer, Harvey Nichols, has one of the best loyalty programs ever. You can find it here.

Time and time again, I see business owners in any field make the same mistakes. They see they’re doing well, and quickly forget about the little additions that keep their business thriving. Complacency kills business. Get creative with your strategies! I welcome you to implement anything outlined in this article, but I also invite you to take a moment today and think about how creative you can get with your business, and what you need to brush up on.