Staying loyal to a store though the hard times

We have a local game store in the neighborhood. The owners are friendly, there are constantly people there playing games, and they do quite a bit with the local kids and community.

Overall a great company who treats their customers well.

About five months ago a new game came out that the kiddo and I wanted.

The game store couldn't get it due to supply issues and then the city shutdown making it even more difficult.

We could have ordered it from Amazon. It was even 10% off and we would have it in our hands in two days.

But over the years the local store has built up our customer loyalty. We want to buy from them, unless there's no other option.

We waited it out for a few months. Which was difficult because the game would have helped pass the time.

Today I got a call from them, the game is in and they've set aside a copy for us.

It took a few months but we're happy we waited and are supporting the local store. Especially after all that's happened in 2020.

That's why it's important to curate and grow loyal customers.

It takes awhile (2-3 years for this game store) and the results can be inconsistent early on, but in the long-term (and during crisis moments) your store will be better off for doing it.

I've added a new report to Repeat Customer Insights that will show you which products lead to the customers who spend the most. e.g. customers who starting by buying this game, ended up spending more than ones who bought this other game.

It comes with a 14-day free trial so you can see how it works and get some ideas right away.

Eric Davis

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Topics: Customer loyalty

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