September 4th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

For most business owners, winter is always the busiest time of year – and that’s a good thing! The Christmas shopping season sees thousands of potential customers venture out into town every day, visiting shops, cafes, pubs, and more. If you own a business, you’ll probably see lots of new customers around winter time, meaning you’ve got more opportunity than ever to generate much more repeat business from returning customers if they like what you’re selling. Repeat business is earned, not given, so you shouldn’t take it for granted. If you want to keep your customers coming back, you’ll want to read on to learn how you can turn those Christmas shoppers into regulars.

1. Remember the Name

People always like to feel welcomed, and there’s no better way to do that than to make sure you remember your customers! Whether it’s a name, a face, or simply asking how they’ve been, showing you recognise your customers is a great way to build trust and to entice them to keep coming back. This is especially important around the festive season – no one likes a Grinch! It’s easy, simple, and it doesn’t cost a penny to get to know your customers, but do make sure you and your staff stay professional.

2. Make Sure Your Washroom is Clean

When you’re in a restaurant or café, have you ever noticed how, whenever someone goes to the bathroom, they always comment on how nice (or how unpleasant) it is? You can have the best front of house area in the world, but if your washroom is dingy, dirty, and full of appliances that don’t work, then that’s what your customers will remember – especially if you’re a restaurant, where hygiene is most important. If your customers get the impression that, while you might be a nice company, you’re unhygienic, they won’t want to rush back! Don’t let your customer bathrooms let you down – make sure your washroom appliances are modern and appealing, and keep your surfaces well-maintained and clean.

3. Offer Your Customers Unique Service

Every customer will appreciate the chance to save a bit of money over the winter when Christmas costs and heating bills mean people are stretched thin. You can go one step further by offering your customers some unique discounts to encourage them to come back. You can do this yourself if you’re confident in your margins, or you can use an eCommerce system to distribute unique codes to customers. Unique codes make customers feel special, and you can use this to your advantage by offering a single-use discount that’s redeemable on their next purchase. If it’s before Christmas, you can go one step further and dress this up as a sort of Christmas card! This will help make your customer’s shopping or dining experience fresh and memorable, which is sure to make them want to come back. If you don’t want to offer discounts, the unique service you provide don’t have to be monetary. Just making sure you and your staff go the extra mile to deliver amazing customer service that makes your customers feel like individuals will count for a lot.

4. Keep Them Cosy

First impressions are vital when it comes to attracting repeat custom. If your customers are freezing on the high street, you want a wave of cosiness to hit them as soon as they step through the door. This will get them in a much more relaxed and comfortable frame of mind from the moment they arrive at your business, giving them a much stronger impression that they’re going to remember. If all they can remember about your shop is that it was freezing, they aren’t going to want to come back in a hurry! Use a warm air curtain above your door to make sure your customers get some relief from the cold outside right away. Over door heaters come in all shapes and sizes, so naturally bigger shops will need bigger heaters, but for most businesses this MYLEK air curtain should tick every box. It’s warm, energy-efficient, easy-to-use, compact, stylish and subtle-looking, so it’s good for your customers and it won’t cost you the Earth!

5. Make Sure They Can Always Reach You

Make sure you inform your customers about ways they can reach you. You should make sure you’ve got a website, social media profile, email address, or a phone number (or all of the above) displayed clearly somewhere that your customers can see it. Encourage your customers to contact you about anything at all and always make sure you respond promptly. Even if one of your customers isn’t happy with something, by being responsive and empathetic you can easily turn that situation around and ensure they remain a regular patron of your business for years to come.