10. How to turn first-time buyers into loyal, long-term customers

EPISODE 10 OF WHAT WOULD THEY DO? THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PODCAST FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

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In this episode, I answer a powerful listener question:

“I can’t seem to get my customers to buy from me beyond that first purchase. What does it really take to turn a first-time buyer into a long-term loyal customer?”

Join me as I break down the key elements of customer retention, showing that it’s not just about delivering a product or service, but about creating an emotional, memorable experience that builds trust and encourages repeat purchases.

If you’re relying too heavily on attracting new leads and don’t see return customers right now, this episode will help you shift your focus to loyalty-building strategies that are simple, human, and impactful.

What we cover:

How to Gently Guide Customers to Their Next Purchase – Connection over selling: how to introduce the next step in a way that feels helpful, not pushy.

Why So Many Customers Only Buy Once – The most common reasons people don’t return after a first purchase.

How to Make a Memorable First Impression – The power of a personal, thoughtful post-purchase experiences.

How to Build Trust – Why doing what you say you will (and doing it well) builds long-term brand confidence.

How to Surprise and Delight Customers Without Spending Big – Small, thoughtful gestures that create big emotional impact.

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Episode Transcript:

Hey, hey and welcome to today’s episode. Today’s all about customer retention. A super, super awesome topic, one that I’m super passionate about. And we are going to dive into the following.

listener question. I can’t seem to get my customers to buy from me beyond that first purchase. What does it really take to turn a first time buyer into a long-term loyal customer? my god, what a common question and one that I get from my customers all the time, from my clients and really I’m going to share some answers to do today with you. So

Just as a little bit of background, feel in the online space, we are as business owners trained to go for that shiny object. And the shiny object often is new leads, new customers at all costs. Obviously, I totally agree that we need to introduce new audiences into our universe. So we need to grow our email list. We need to show up and be visible so new people can find out about us.

Retention and really looking after the people who have already placed trust in your brand, who have potentially already purchased from you is where the sweet spot lies because ultimately customer retention is where your long-term business growth, your sustainability, your impact, your consistency really come into the picture. And so in this episode today, I’m going to break down why

loyalty doesn’t just happen by accident, people don’t buy by accident. And I’m going to explore some of the things that you can focus on in your business to really create an intentional customer journey that sets the scene for a next purchase. But before we get stuck in, let’s look at some of those common and absolutely human reasons why people don’t buy. Again.

which often is the majority of people on your list. They buy ones and unfortunately never hit that buy now button again. So one possible reason is that they got what they came for. So they got the results, they got the outcomes, the quick wins they wanted, but there was just no personal human connection with you, the business owner and you as in your brand.

It could also be that potentially while they got those outcomes, the onboarding experience was really confusing, clunky, underwhelming, and it felt like the chore to get to those results. Or potentially, you know, they felt like as soon as they handed over that hard-earned cash, you dropped them like a hot potato, never to talk to them again and…

really leave them to their own devices through your offer suite and through the course content, your membership or potentially that service experience with you. So if I want to bottle this up and package this up into one statement here, I’d have to say that the customer experience between the point of purchase and that next decision really is where you lose or win.

loyalty and customer retention. So it is super important to focus on what happens once people have purchased and that next purchase you want to steer them towards. So what actually builds loyalty after that first purchase or potentially even second and third purchase? So it all starts with a personal welcome. So that post-purchase experience really should feel like a warm hug and

personal invitation into your brand rather than flicking across a receipt via email. And it needs to help people settle into the experience, into the course of service, into your brand really and it needs to help them know what to expect. They don’t need to second guess, they shouldn’t have to. It should really all be delivered on a platter for them.

And bonus here, if you can add personal touches and personal, you know, points of difference along the way, such as welcome videos or personal handwritten cards, that elevates that whole process even further. Next up, obviously, welcome is one thing, but you need to deliver on that promise. So whatever was on your sales page, whatever was in the contract, you need to deliver on

That’s the baseline. And ultimately that is the quickest thing to build trust in your brand and in your offer. But somehow, unfortunately, the magic is in the boring stuff. So apart from delivering the thing or saying what you do, it’s the process behind how you do it. So really doing what you said you were going to do on time.

Always responding to questions, responding to feedback. I’m not talking here being available 24-7, but really setting the right expectations and defining the right boundaries as soon as people sign up for the experience. So there’s no misunderstandings and it’s crystal clear when and how they’re going to be engaging with you. And it needs to feel easy to interact with your brand, whether that is your home portal, your membership portal.

your onboarding process, your forms for one-on-one services. It really needs to be low-lift and easily slot into people’s daily routines. really trust gives people safety, a feeling of safety and having made a smart decision. And that feeling of safety and smart choices then creates a sense of loyalty in what you have to say, in

you’re trying to sell and in the offers that you are trying to push. Next up here we have the optional bits. The optional bits that really elevate the experience and create that remarkable and memorable experience with your brand. I really like to look at it this way. So the currency of customer experience is not customer service.

I’ve said that in previous episode here, customer service and delivering on the promise of the baseline. It really comes to emotion. It’s the emotion that goes with that customer service and that customer experience that elevates your brand and helps it stand out from competitors in a crowded market. people will always remember how you made them feel. They remember the outcomes.

when it comes to your brand and how you make them feel, that is what they’re going to tell their friends about you. That’s what it’s going to come down to when it comes to that next purchase. And if you can build in elements of surprise, delight, joy even, and those emotions into your customer experience,

even better if they’re unexpected, that really just creates something that really connects with the customer on a deeper level. And it doesn’t have to be elaborately, I’m not talking expensive welcome gifts. It can be a personal video checking in with your customer two weeks after you’ve delivered. Coming from my perspective here, the copy for your project, see how they’re going, see how that collaboration with their web designers going, whether they need any help.

whether you can support their web designer in any way. You can also celebrate milestones. So once that website is launched, once your copy that you wrote for them is out in the world, know, celebrate their website launch with them, send them a message, cheer them on, share on social media that, you know, it’s amazing. This project is now out in the world and that it is awesome and people should check it out. It doesn’t take much. It’s the little

intentional, thoughtful interactions that really make all the difference. And beyond your processes, delivering on the promise, surprise and delight, you as the business owner really need to help your customer connect the dots and connect the pieces, unfortunately. Loyalty so often breaks down because people…

simply don’t know what that next step is. You as the business owner, you are across your entire office suite. You know that next logical step, but chances are if someone buys from you the first time, they have no idea that there are four other courses or memberships or coaching programs that are perfectly designed to take the quick wins they’ve just seen and take them to a whole new level. So you need to connect the dots for them. You need to introduce that next step.

And rather than treating it as constant selling and constant nudging, you are providing a service to this particular buyer because you are giving them an opportunity to get even better results. So if you shift your perspective on that, if you do it in a subtle way, if you extend an invitation rather than a hard sell, people are going to be thankful for introducing them to this opportunity. If they take you up on it, that’s another question, but…

you as the business owner are responsible for connecting those dots. And how I like to do it is rather than pushing that hard sell, giving them an opportunity to embark on an absolutely bespoke path to that next purchase. And I’ve shared it previously on episodes, so tricklings are a great way to do that. Really just extending an invitation and if people engage with that invitation,

you then invite them to check out more. you know, really connecting the dots doesn’t have to be rocket science. It could be an invite to a higher tier of a program. If you have a self-paced option, you can invite them to upgrade to include one on one support. It could also be asking them to take a quiz where you are based on their answers, steering them towards that next step.

logical step again gamifying the process that feels less likely selling to them but a fun exercise that takes them to that next level. And really, I saying before, it’s all about emotions and relationships and human touches in this interaction. you know, retention is emotional. It’s not transactional as much as we look at repeat purchases from a dollar value perspective. And

It really needs to be a continual process. It’s not a, you know, I sent you through this funnel, you buy process. It is an invitation for two-way conversation. It is continuously asking for feedback after the purchase to see how you can improve how you do business. It is starting conversations without an agenda and just checking in. It is celebrating milestones, as I say, so staying front of mind and…

reminding your customers of the awesome results they got from working with you. And it really helps you to build a brand that people want to stay in a relationship with. Sounds a bit corny, but you know, it really is like that. Like you surround yourself with people that make you feel great. And the same goes for businesses. I invite businesses into my inbox that make me giggle, make me feel something. And everyone else.

gets unsubscribed from. So people want to be appreciated and they want to feel like they have a one-on-one connection with you. So I know a lot to take in, but hopefully that really helps you set the baseline for you, how you approach your client projects, membership, your courses that you are offering in your business. And

As per usual, I have actionable takeaways for you today. So I invite you today to do a quick loyalty audit of the processes in your business. questions you can ask yourself here is what happens after the purchase? Are your people actually looked after? Do you stay in touch with them or do you drop them like a hot potato? Are you delivering value and delivering on

a promise after the purchase. So do you actually say what you said you were going to do? It might be somewhat confronting but really have a look at your client results, whether they align with the promise on your sales page and in your sales messaging as well. And then do your customers have any idea of

the what’s next or are you leaving them hanging? So how are you currently connecting the dots for your customers or are you not doing it? you know, so really take a look at your office suite. How do certain offers fit together and what could be an organic path through that suite that you could take your customers on? And then what’s one easy, low lift way for you to…

start conversation with a past customer today to celebrate a milestone to check in without an agenda. That’s my mini challenge for you today. So really picking one touch point or one product in your office suite and seeing how you can make it more personal, more meaningful and infuse more in-option into the process. So if you would like your question answered by myself,

a guest expert, then absolutely submit your question via the link in the show notes. You can do that anonymously like this listener or you can add your details for a shout out to your website. And if you enjoyed this episode, I hope you did. I invite you to subscribe and follow, potentially share it with your business buddies or anyone who could benefit from this law retention episode. And thanks for tuning in. I’ll see you next week.