Make the Sale to Get the Customer (Don't Get the Customer to Make the Sale)

Depending on how this title hits your ears, it may sound counterintuitive at first.
Our wildest dreams as a business owner include a steady stream of foot traffic through out store, right? But obviously we need that foot traffic to convert into paying customers if we want to pay the bills and make money!

Often times this is where we get stuck. And understandably so.
After all, we're the ones with all the skin in the game.
We have to pay the rent whether or not people come in.
We have to pay for the product up front to stock our shelves in the first place.
So naturally, we want to make sure that we have more than “window shoppers” or “browsers.”

We want them to BUY SOMETHING, too.
So we hyper focus on making the sale out of fear that the customer may not come back again.

Here's the problem with that thinking:
it's not focused on the value of a lifetime customer.
To be clear, the problem is not that we want to make money, the problem is that we don't take into consideration the value of customer retention.

Isn't that the point?
You want them to come back?

We should focus on providing three things in our marketing efforts:

1. a “hook” to get them INTO the store
2. an experience that confirms their decision to shop with us
3. a way to re-target and re-engage them afterwards

If we've really created something of value that people want, then we should rest in the fact that if we can just get them in the door once (marketing efforts), then their experience will confirm it was a good decision and they'll come back.

Therefore, in theory, even if we have to spend money to get them in the door the first time, our efforts will still be profitable because we will have truly created a CUSTOMER, not just a sale.

In the next two posts, I'll flesh out what this process can actually look like.
We'll cover HOW to create a “hook” to get them in, and how to use those “hooks” (even if it's a coupon) to make more money. I'll also give you a practical way to re-connect with them AFTER they've left your store to ensure they come back.

Customer retention is really the key to increasing your sales and your profit.
Statistically, every business loses 15% of its customer base each year.
That's a national average. A hard, cold fact.

So, if you think the key to growing your business is simply appealing to more people or getting new people through your door, then you'd have to add at least 15% more new customers to your business each year just to “break even” on customers. Wouldn't you come out better just focusing on retaining more customers every year?

We do need to focus on getting fresh, new people through our doors.
But the goal should be that we focus on making those people customers, not just dollar signs for the day.

I'll show you how to get new people through your door, but most importantly, I'll tell you how to keep them coming back.