The Back Door: 6 Ways to Cash in On Returning Customers

Entry By Jason Brick

Every business owner needs to watch two doors when it comes to the customers. The front door represents customers you don't already have, the ones targeted by the bulk of your advertising (ed note – See our previous post on The Front Door!). The back door represents those who've already made at least one purchase. In general, a returning customer has the potential to be five or more times as profitable as a new customer.

One of the great things about text message marketing is it provides a low-cost way to make occasional contact with your back door customers.

Take these campaign ideas as just some examples of turning your businesses back door into another cash counter.

1. Simple Rewards Program
   From credit card rewards to the punch cards you find in every sandwich shop in the country, programs that pay customers to come back work. Your SMS campaign can automate this by putting it all online.
2. Referrals, Referrals, Referrals
   Word-of-mouth is golden because it brings you customers that are already pre-sold by people they trust. If you're not sending out at least one SMS broadcast a month with some kind of reward for bringing in a friend, make doing this a top priority.
3. Insider Information
   People crave a sense of belonging, especially in our increasingly fractured and solitary society. They want to feel like they matter. If you broadcast your "inside track" subscribers with leaked news about new products, upcoming events and details about your staff, they'll think of you and talk about you more often. If the information is juicy enough, they might even share it via social media.
4. Members-Only Sales
   Another take on the "insider" angle, this means offering some kind of sale to only returning customers. This might be a discount coupon you broadcast to your list, or simply using a specific text message as the entry fee to get in to a major sale an hour earlier than the general public.
5. Upgrade Day
   For one day only, offer to buy back old gear for returning customers who purchase a newer unit. This idea doesn't always work for every industry, since profit margins and progress sometimes make it financially infeasible. However, if you can make a little money off of this deal it can be a real winner with your existing clients.
6. "Missing You" Sale
   Use this one to pull lapsing customers back into the fold. Once a quarter, offer a discount to anybody who can bring in a receipt that's two or more months old, or otherwise demonstrate they bought from you so long ago. The theme implies that the discount goes to folks who haven't been in for a few months, but honor the discount for anybody who kept their receipts for that long.