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Are you always chasing after new clients or customers?

It’s more cost efficient to create repeat buyers, so the question is…. Are you set up for that?

In today’s episode, we talk about how you can build multiple ways to create repeat buyers in your business and why this has a positive impact on your bottom line.

Thinkific (The course software that Jennie uses)

Alyson Lex 0:03
There is a lot, a lot, a lot of talk about growing your list, getting new blood into your ecosystem, growing your visibility growing your audience making new sales, woohoo, I've got this new client. But what there isn't as much conversation about and this is something that I covered on my recent summit coaching conversion is the repeat buyer, getting somebody who's already purchased from you to purchase, again, to ascend up the value or success ladder to pay more to keep going. Or just to keep coming back over and over again for a service that you offer. And there really are two things that are going to make your customers come back over and over again, the first thing is that you have something they still need. We don't just go to a grocery store one time. It's a consumable thing. And if you offer a service, sometimes what you do can be consumable. I'm a copywriter, people are gonna always need new copy. Sometimes you offer something that they really only buy or think they need once. So what do you do there? You create multiple offers. One of the experts on my summit is a book, marketing, writing coach person. That's her official title as well, book marketing, writing coach person. But she doesn't just edit help you write the book, she also edits the book, she helps you publish the book. Right? It would be really smart of her to offer launch help. How can she say you've done this? Your next step is this. If you another expert, let me thank is a course creation specialist, she helps you create your first offer. Well, then she's going to help you make your next offer. And then she's got a coaching program. And then she's gonna do this. Right? How can you build that into your business? How can you say, we've gotten you from point A to point B? Now, let's get you from point B to point C. I'm not saying that you have to do everything. I'm not advocating for being a jack of all trades, by any stretch of any imagination. What I am suggesting is that look at the transformation that your people are coming to you for. They're starting at step one, and they want to get to step 10. What step do you currently help them with? If you're me, I'm probably in the copy world. At a step five. They've got the business, they've got the offer. They've got the idea they've got the audience. Now they need to sell to them. Well, is there something I could do to serve the people at step four? Is there something I can do to serve the people that step six, right? So really, I what I want you to do is get a piece of paper, I love this, get a piece of paper, a number of one to 10. Step one is where they are. Step 10 is where they want to be. And I want you to fill in all the steps in between. Think about it, research it, ask people, what steps do you need to take? And then brainstorm. Is there a way I can help them with this step? For instance, Jenny, she's kind of already got this, she kind of already did it without me telling her to do it because she's just that dang smart. She really does do step one through step 10. Step one, they might come in, they're just starting a business step 10. They're rockin it. Okay, cool. We're gonna take you from step one to launching something, maybe we'll do a list build, maybe we'll do some audience growth. Right? She and I are doing a lot of work with authors, people who want to write a book. And they write Jenny.

Jennie Wright 4:30
Yeah, that's been a really cool addition to what we do helping people get from the one to the thing, and authors don't necessarily think about how they're going to serve in that way. And it's been interesting working with authors by showing them that they can have this, you know, maybe they come in at step three, and maybe they're out at Step five, or maybe they're out at step seven. And trying to figure this out. I love what Alyson was saying to get a piece of paper and sort of write that out. I also realized when Alyson was talking even though I do do One through 10. I don't want to, because one is two entry level. For what I want to do, I want to focus on the people who are probably from step four to 10, where they're breaking out where they're really, you know, starting to get it, I find that step one through the for the brand spanking newbie, I do have, I do have resources for those people. But I don't necessarily want to coach them in my coaching practice. And I don't necessarily want to build the funnels for them in the funnel building practice, because those people are not at a stage where they might use somebody at my level. So even though I can do one through 10, I think I'd rather and I realized this, as Alyson was talking and I felt it was brilliant, that I'd rather stick to the fourth return myself. So that was really that was actually insightful that when you start talking about that

Alyson Lex 5:54
don't sound so surprised. What I liked is how use you identified where you want to start. I'm not saying you have to serve one through 10. You just can. Everybody can. Okay, if you're a weight loss coach. Step one is my diet and exercise habits are terrible. Step 10. Is I'm running marathons, right? You may not want to help people who are running marathons, you may have a passion for the people who are ready to change their lives and don't know how they're all the way at step one. That's cool. But recognize how you can so that now you can determine how you don't want to? How can you create those offers? How can you help people further through their their transformation, the process the transition, and create an offer around it. That's how you're going to get repeat buyers,

Jennie Wright 6:53
it's a great way to look at the development of an offer ladder or a value ladder or an ascension ladder, there's different names for it. The second thing on this is the experience. So if you want repeat people, then yes, you can create all the products that you want, you can create the multiple offers and create those repeat buyers. But if they don't experience an exceptional experience within those offers, chances are they will come back and they're certainly not going to refer other people. So we have to create those wonderful customer slash client experiences. And this is where a lot of people sort of fall off the wagon with this or they, they don't hit the mark on this, it's sort of an afterthought, oh, they bought from me great. But the experience post purchase is just as important as the experience leading into the purchase. So they have to feel seen, they have to feel that you get them that you understand them on a human level, they have to feel that they're you know, they made the right decision. They have to feel served, they have to feel that you care about them and their well being. And this comes in the form of many things. But the simplistic side of it is a welcome email, thanks for your purchase. Here's the next steps. One of the biggest lead, one of the biggest things that leads to buyer's remorse is silence from the person they bought from. If you make if somebody makes a purchase, and they don't get that instant receipt, that instant email confirmation, you know, I bought some shirts from a company in Canada called reasons a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't get my email right away that said my purchase was completed. So my worry was is that it didn't actually go through. And then my second worry was am I actually going to get the product. And it ended up that it was in my junk mail. But that was the process that was in my head. So in terms of feeling served, we have to make sure that those people understand that they're cared for. Another example is if you buy something from little lemon, you get that email and you get like all these Oh, the update, oh, we packed your box. Oh, it's literally getting on the truck. Like it's an incredible service. And you definitely feel that sort of that that's that feeling of being seen and heard everything. They also have to feel helped, right. So the problem that they're experiencing gets addressed. And they feel like you're working with them towards the solution. If they've purchased something from you and they feel like it's all on their shoulders for them to to you know, basically climb the ladder or the mountain or whatever with the big you know, with all the luggage, then they're not going to feel like you're they're making a lighter load. So look at the ways that you can make people feel like it was a great decision to purchase from you and a great experience to purchase from you. And that will help with those repeat buyers a lot and they will refer you

Alyson Lex 9:43
I think this stuff is really important because you want to make them feel like you're on their team. I'm on your side I want you to succeed. Frankly I have clients that they love me because I am genuinely vested in their success. I want to see them succeed. I celebrate with them. They're excited to tell me about stuff that they do. Because I celebrate with them. I tell them how proud of them I am. I tell them that this is so exciting. Like, really, that's not that hard. It's not that hard to just be excited for someone. And let's be honest. And Frank and transparent here is a nice old ego boost. When somebody says, Hey, Allison, that thing you said worked like gangbusters. Thank you. Here's the results I got. So yeah, little ego boost, pat myself on the back, but also awesome. I'm so excited that you sold out your program, or you got a bunch of registrants for your webinar, or whatever it is that they did with the information that I give them. Okay, so a few steps to kind of create this experience for them. And step number one is find out what they need. And I don't mean like what they need to do to solve their problem. But how do they like to communicate? How often do they want to hear from you? What do they want you to text them or email them? And obviously, the more they pay, the more personal you're going to get? Right? That's just the way it's scalable. It's, I am not able to be so super personal with every single person on my email list. But that doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge their comments in a Facebook group, if that's where they're posting, that's where they want to communicate with me. Also, what are their expectations from what they've purchased? Right, find out what they need to fulfill those expectations.

Jennie Wright 11:48
Alison brings up a really good point with the expectations and the understanding of what people need, your next job is to deliver it once you know what they want, just just provide it for them. It's actually a lot easier than people think we have these lovely things called automations. In our email marketing systems that can help us do that at make it a lot easier, quite honestly. So give it to them. What can you build into your programs or your processes that meet the needs that your ideal client or your purchaser has expressed to you? How can you make sure they're connecting, or you're connecting with them on a level that they want? And this is where customer service? If you've ever worked a customer service job, and I haven't I know Allison has to this is where that customer service comes in. Just go a little bit above and beyond and do the surprise and delight I love surprise and delight. And it's not a hard thing to do. Allison does this like she was mentioning a little bit earlier. But Alison actually doesn't really tell you all that she does. And she's not giving yourself enough credit. When she says that she gives you know, she kind of Alison's the cheerleader behind the scenes. And she will give a lot of love on to her clients, when something really good happens for them. And she'll push them to succeed. And when they do, she absolutely provides a lot of support. And I try and do the same as well. But it's very, very important. And you can build it in into your automations as well. Right? So you can you can look at these different ways of creating that customer service experience that really makes people feel like I was saying earlier seen and heard.

Alyson Lex 13:21
One of the things that I got to do, I just mentioned my summit a little earlier. I had VIP, and I had VIP buyers. And on day one of the summit, they got their VIP stuff. They got the transcripts in the the notes and access to the recordings early. And then I think it was probably the night of day one I realized, Oh, I forgot to give them the bonus that I promised them. So on day two, I said, Hey, welcome. It's day two, I wanted to make sure that you also got this and that it didn't get missed in yesterday's flurry of emails. You know, if you're a VIP buyer from the summit, that's why you got day two gifts. And then I was like, Well, I have a third day of the summit. And I'm kind of liking the whole gift thing. So I came up with another I called it an unadvertised bonus. And I just email it to him. It was a free it was a thing I already had. I knew it had a ton of value. But it was just another little thing to surprise them and I think even I put a GIF at the top of the email that was just somebody jumping out of a box that said surprise like surprise and delight is not that hard. It can be little it doesn't have to be this big orchestrated flashmob proposal. It can be very simple. Hey, I have this I thought you might like it. Alright, so step three is to audit the results. Are you getting the results? Are your people getting the results that you promised? Can you better support them through the process or transformation that you've sold to them? Do you need to manage the expectations of what that result may be? Is your content or process or service, lacking or abundant in helping with this? What needs to happen? You need to do this often. And want you to have a finger on this pulse, whether you're selling courses, products, services, group coaching, I don't care. Are your people getting what you promised? Because I guarantee you if they're not, they're not going to buy from you again. Alright, do this quarterly and make adjustments as needed. But really, you should kind of know. Right? Oh, yeah, the majority of my people are super successful. I have, you know, these one or two people in my group coaching, they're probably lagging behind. Frankly, they can't they're not showing up to the calls. for it, you should know who's getting results, especially at high levels? And who's not? And if not, you know, what needs to be done? If it's if it's a product, how can you support them through consuming that content? Can you build in quizzes? Can you get feedback? Can you ask for testimonials? What can you do to just check in on those results?

Jennie Wright 16:24
Yeah, I'm a huge fan of what Alyson just said, I really love trying to get those results. For an example, if you're running a course and you're using a software like Thinkific, as an example, any really good course our software's will have this built in, where you can run a little quiz at the end of the module, and get some feedback or at the end of the actual course. So I think that's a phenomenal idea. So we have a couple of takeaways from today. And there's a few that we think are really important. Number one is make sure you do that one through 10 list that I was talking about at the beginning, where you sort of list out those sort of the journey of your ideal client that buyers journey, and then try and determine where you are on that list what you could offer and also what you want to do, how you want to serve on that list, what numbers do you actually want to do. And make sure you focus on that. And ensure that you have ways for people to become those repeat buyers

Alyson Lex 17:19
want you to put your customer service hat on and want you to make sure that their experience is so good that they want to come back. They want more from you. The end goal here is they say to you, well, we're going to use Allison because that's my name. They're gonna say, Allison, I don't want to leave yet. How can I stay? That is the ultimate goal. How can I stay with you? What else can I bat? Yeah, if you can get that man. You've got it.

Jennie Wright 17:54
I want to use the picture of Alison, if you can't, if you're just listening to this, I'm seeing Alison and she's doing like the sort of like the circle thumb thing. I love that it's so cute. I want you to understand your buyers expectations and make sure that you deliver them. So what's the expectation that you think that they want? Don't assume find out? It's not as hard as it might seem? You can ask them questions, you can build this into your structure, where you're just asking people prior to like what, you know, what's your favorite way of receiving information? How often do you need to be heard, etc, etc. I love that and make sure that you understand them and so you can deliver the right thing to them.

Alyson Lex 18:33
How can you continue to improve their experience to improve their results to improve what you're doing? Alright, here's the thing. If we're not growing, we're dead. I hate to say it that way. If we're not growing, we're dead. And I don't mean money wise.

Don't mean money wise. I mean, if things don't continually improve, your competition will catch up to you. You'll get stagnant and people will be less excited about working with you. So how can you be better tomorrow than you were today? With everything that you do.

There's a lot here

Jennie Wright 19:44
that is useful in your business. And sometimes this can feel overwhelming. What I want to share with you is it doesn't have to be and what helps to make it less overwhelming is to have a plan. A plan is going to help make this some more simple for you. And if you'd like help Without a plan, Allison, I would like to help you with it. please head over to System to THRIVE comm take a look, I'll take a look at how you could work with Allison and me on creating a plan that makes sense. So that you have these other ladders in your business, these ways of getting those repeat customers. Because figuring it out on your own is challenging. Figuring out how to learn or understand can feel overwhelming. And when we're overwhelmed, we don't take those steps forward. So head there, check it out, and make sense out and I would love to support you with that. Please make sure that you're following this podcast wherever it is that you listen to your episodes, share it with your friends, leave us a review, and let us know what you think. Thank you so much for listening to this. Allison and I will be back again very soon. Answering another big question.