Repeat purchase refers to the act of a repeat customer making multiple purchases from the same business or brand over time. Driving repeat purchases is one of the most important goals for marketing, sales, and customer service teams, as it is one of the ways to ensure retention and increased revenue securely.
In this article, we will present what it consists of and the best strategies that you can implement to promote it in your business.
What is a repeat purchase?
A repeat purchase is when a customer purchases an item or service from the same brand that they previously bought and consumed.
These customers are already familiar with a brand and are often driven by the comfort of something that has worked for them in the past.
A repeat purchase can be an example of the degree of loyal customers or customer loyalty to a brand. It is also an opportunity for sellers to build long-term relationships with customers.
A high number of repeat purchases indicates a satisfied and well-retained customer, which reduces new customer acquisition costs and increases overall profitability.
The repeat purchase rate is a metric that determines how many customers buy a product more than once. It is typically expressed as a percentage of total number of customers who have purchased the product.
A company’s repeat purchase rate can increase through web and social media promotions, digital loyalty programs, and exceptional customer service.
Importance of repeat purchases
Repeat purchases represent the most profitable way to increase a company’s revenue, which is why market researchers consider them a factor in evaluating the business.
Studies have shown that successful online stores get almost 50% of repeat sales from existing customers.
In addition, repeat customers are the segment that is easiest to target through marketing efforts and promotions, and they are easy to get in touch with due to the contact information and connection that has been previously established due to previous purchases.
These existing customers have a positive relationship with the brand and are more likely to respond to marketing activities and make customer repurchase intentions or decisions. Therefore, encouraging repeat purchases is one of the best strategies to ensure customer retention and brand loyalty.
How to promote repeat purchases in business?
If you’d like to start promoting repeat purchases in your business, here are 8 ways to succeed:
Provide a memorable customer experience
The first step to guarantee a repeat purchase is to offer a positive customer experience that meets their needs and expectations, offering solutions to their problems and being present when they need you to resolve doubts or situations that may arise around your products or services.
Remember that this also includes the post-sale experience, since this will allow you to confirm that you have made the best decision by choosing you among all the offers of the competition.
Continue with targeted messages after the purchase
One mistake that many brands have made is to stop sending specific messages once the purchase has been made.
Personalized post-purchase customer engagement can leave them with a lasting, positive impression and keep your brand top of mind when they need to repurchase.
Find out what top of mind is and how to stay in the consumer’s mind.
Build an email list
Sending regular targeted emails to new customers and fans of your business is a proven effective strategy for driving a repeat purchase.
Unlike social media ads, remarketing ads, or Google Ads, you don’t have to pay a ridiculous amount to reach your email list.
However, it is important to be careful, as while sending emails is easy, it does come at a cost.
Every email you send grabs your customers’ attention, and if subscribers don’t find your messages engaging and relevant enough to keep reading, they may start to disengage from your brand.
Personalize the experience
Personalizing the customer experience goes far beyond greeting customers by name. 33% of customers abandon a business relationship due to a lack of personalization.
The more you interact with your regular customer base, the more data you will have about their preferences. Use this data to tailor your messages and promotions.
Trigger the action in real-time
Customers display specific intentions and behavior at different stages of the purchase decision process.
Using an experience management system that gives you real-time insights can help you in customer segmentation based on these behaviors and remind customers when the time is right.
Marketing automation also makes it easy to re-engage those who have added items to your basket without checking out.
In that case, you can send them an activation email with a reminder to boost conversions, excluding those who completed the purchase in the last 24 hours.
Encourage a second purchase
Discounts, promotions, and coupons can be effective if used correctly. For first-time buyers, these incentives are a useful way to keep them coming back for a second purchase.
You can also leverage your existing customer database to identify those who haven’t purchased in a while but are likely to return with incentives, then re-engage with relevant offers to drive repeat purchases and retain customers.
Use a loyalty platform
Another way to encourage repeat purchases is through customer loyalty software.
Using various customer loyalty programs, you can offer discounts, early access to new products, a points system, etc. These are all ways to keep customers returning, especially for restockable products that customers constantly need to buy.
Customer reviews are an important step in the consumer decision-making journey for potential customers.
Product pages with customer reviews convert 3.5 times more than those without, while 79% say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Reviews also show the value and authenticity of your brand and can even equate to a stamp of approval or disapproval for customers. Nearly 9 out of 10 consumers say they read customer feedback and reviews before making a purchase, so it’s crucial to respond to concerns or less-than-stellar reviews as well.
Conclusion
Now that you know what repeat purchase consists of, its importance, and how you can start implementing it in your business, it’s time to get down to work to start captivating that first-time customer and turn them into an authentic promoter of your brand.
Remember that with QuestionPro CX, you can have access to various tools to guarantee a satisfactory experience from start to finish that guarantees repeat purchases and increased income.
Create a free account or request a demo to see everything we have for you!
