Creating Repeat Customers

Having a niche market, such as ferret products, means that the customer base is very limited: There are only so many ferret owners. It's important that Neeps keep its customers happy and that they continue to purchase from the store. To encourage repeat business, Neeps not only wanted to be number one in customer service, but it knew the importance of staying in front of customers.

To keep customers thinking about the company, Neeps incorporated a few marketing tactics:

• Product catalog Every first-time customer gets a product catalog along with an order. This is easily done with OrderMotion, which tags the shipping slip for new customers.

• Product samples Repeat customers get a product sampleanything from food samples to pet toy productsincluded with the package. This lets customers try different products.

• Monthly newsletter This newsletter includes reviews and announcements about new products. It also includes tips on pet care.

• Discounts These are discount codes to encourage repeat business. Everybody loves a sale.

• Community message board This interactive online message board helps ferret pet owners communicate with each other. You can read articles, get tips, send e-cards, view a photo gallery of other owners and their ferrets, and more (see www.ferretstoreinteractive.com).

Now that we have deconstructed three individual websites and looked at how they have successfully positioned themselves, let's look at how you can successfully position your own store.