Repeat custom is among the best that your business can hope for. Many businesses and service provider exist almost solely on repeat business and word-of-mouth so encouraging your customers to return to you for future purchases should be a primary concentration of your business efforts. Good communication throughout the purchase process is absolutely essential, while legitimately collecting an email address and having your customers opt in to receive future product news is also a beneficial step.

1

The Follow Up A big part of customer retention is reminding your former customers that you exist and reminding them of the service or product you provide. It is perfectly good and acceptable business practice to send a follow up email a week or two after the purchase is complete to ensure that your customer was happy with the results. Don't advertise other products unless you have permission to do so, and even then you must provide a mechanism for readers to opt out of receiving future communication. Do personalize the message by using their name and including the name of the product or service that you sold and ensure that your email is well branded.

2

New Product Release Offers In the initial purchasing process, ask customers to opt in to receive future communication regarding products or offers. Having done so, keep this list and do as you promised. Regularly release new products or services that are closely related so that you can continue to remind your customers of the great service that you provided last time. Your list may become your biggest seller and your biggest money maker so take good care of it.

3

Repeat Custom Offers And Loyalty Schemes Offer discounts and other money saving opportunities to customers that do return. You won't have had to pay for extra marketing or advertising to make those sales so you should theoretically be able to afford lower prices for customers that make a second, third, or consecutive purchase. They will be more likely to do so if they will save money for their loyalty.

4

Send A Free Gift Send a small free gift. The gift doesn't have to be of any great value to you but, again, it gives you the opportunity to get back in touch and it receiving an unexpected free gift is always memorable. Even if the recipient doesn't want it they may pass it on to a friend or colleague and are sure to mention it to others.

5

Be Ethical Above all else, you must be ethical. Don't even attempt to push the boundaries on ethical use of contact details because it isn't worth it. You stand to alienate your existing customers and you may find your site has been penalized. Once you have been labeled as a spammer it can be very difficult indeed to recover from the negative effects.

Ethical After Sales Marketing Repeat purchases cost you less than new purchases. You've already accounted for the cost in marketing and advertising and because your customers have more trust in you, they become increasingly likely to return. Ensure that all transactions run smoothly and be ethical in all communication with your customers. You will reap the rewards in the long run.