Getting customers to your store is just half the battle. If you want a successful business, you’ll need shoppers to make multiple purchases over the long term. Therefore, you might be looking for a way to offer a repeat customer discount.
With a repeat customer discount, you’ll be able to incentivize shoppers to stay loyal to your store. Plus, it’s super easy to set up this discount with our Advanced Coupons plugin. You’ll be able to create discount vouchers, distribute them to shoppers, and even auto-apply them to eligible shoppers.
In today’s guide, we’ll explain the importance of repeat customers to your business. Then, we’ll show you how to set up a loyal customer discount coupon. Let’s get started!
The Importance Of Repeat Customers To Your Business
It may seem like any sale is beneficial, regardless of who it comes from. However, it’s hard to overstate the importance of repeat customers to your business.
Repeat customers are more valuable than first-time ones. A study by Bain & Company found that repeat shoppers spend 67% more per transaction. If you’re looking to grow your business as quickly as possible, you’ll want to focus on these recurring sales.
Furthermore, attracting new shoppers costs up to seven times more than earning business from your existing customers. This means you’ll get a better Return on Investment (ROI) and potentially need to spend less on marketing.
Plus, loyal customers may refer other shoppers to your online store. This means you won’t need to spend as much on customer outreach and getting your products in front of new audiences.
How To Encourage Repeat Customers With Coupons
There are various ways to incentivize repeat business, including setting up a loyalty program and offering discounts on consecutive purchases. In this tutorial, we’re going to focus on creating an expiring coupon that must be used within 24 hours of another sale.
This approach puts pressure on the customer to act quickly, which can trigger Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Plus, it’s super easy to set up with our Advanced Coupons plugin. Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, let’s get started!
Step 1: Create a repeat customer discount coupon
The first step is creating a coupon for your follow-up sales strategy. Start by heading to WordPress > Coupons > Add New:
You can auto-generate a coupon code or write your own. Since you’re designing a special offer, this is a great opportunity to get creative with the discount name.
Here are a few coupon code ideas for returning customers:
- 24HRDEAL
- LOYAL24
- 24HOURFLASH
- SECOND ORDER
Under Coupon data > General, you’ll want to apply the discount to your coupon. In our example, we’re offering 20% off the order:
Now scroll down to Cart Conditions. Here, we’re going to do two things: make the coupon valid for only 24 hours and restrict the discount to repeat customers.
We can do this with a single setting by selecting Within Hours After Customer Last Order, hitting Add, and entering “24” into the box:
Finally, click on Save Cart Conditions at the bottom of the settings screen.
Step 2: (Optional) Auto-apply the repeat customer discount coupon
This step is optional, but we highly recommend auto-applying the coupon to eligible customers when they navigate through your store. This way, shoppers won’t have to manually enter the discount code, providing them with a better user experience.
Additionally, it’s super easy to auto-apply a coupon! Just tick the box under Auto Apply Coupon in the right-hand settings:
Hit Update at the top of the screen to apply these changes. It’s that easy!
Step 3: Send loyal customer discount emails
Finally, it’s time to let customers know that they’re eligible for discounts on follow-up purchases. This way, you can incentivize shoppers to buy more items before their coupons expire.
You could send a loyal customer discount email that reads something like this:
Hi [customer name],
Thanks for your recent order! We want to reward your loyalty by giving you 20% off your next purchase. But you’ll have to move quickly — this offer expires in 24 hours! Simply enter the code 24HRDEAL at checkout, and enjoy 20% off the total order value.
Thanks from the team at [company name]!
If you set up the auto-apply setting for the coupon, customers won’t need to enter the code to access the discount. Plus, you could even add the coupon code automatically to order confirmation emails so that customers can jump on the offer straight away.
Conclusion
Repeat customers can offer a lot of value to your online business. Additionally, offering your shoppers discounts on limited-time follow-up purchases can trigger feelings of FOMO and encourage them to buy more items.
To recap, here are three steps to set up a loyal customer discount with our Advanced Coupons plugin:
- Create a coupon and apply a time limit to it.
- Auto-apply the coupon to streamline the purchasing process.
- Send loyal customer discount emails to incentivize follow-up sales.
Better yet, you can get started with the free version of Advanced Coupons!
Do you have any questions about creating a repeat customer discount? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image via Pixabay
