Let’s be honest: The most obvious way to attract and retain clients or customers is to deliver a great product or service. That’s the baseline. But in a crowded market, “great” isn’t always enough — especially when a competitor is next to you in the search results, or is just one scroll away on socials.
That’s why we’ve come up with this article on how to keep clients coming back, including why customer retention is important and what things you can do to improve on that.
After all, the only thing better than getting someone to buy your services or products is getting that person to buy again and again.
Why Is Retaining Customers or Clients So Important?
Below are some of the main reasons why you should prioritize getting repeat business from existing clients or customers.
Lower cost than chasing new customers: It’s usually faster and cheaper to re-engage someone who already knows your work or product than to persuade a stranger. More often than not, all it takes is a friendly check-in, a timely reminder, or a small perk — no big ad spend required.
Higher spend over time: Repeat clients tend to buy more, and more often. Because they trust you, they’re typically more open to helpful recommendations, potentially leading to bigger purchase amounts without having to resort to hard-selling on your end.
More predictable revenue: When a good chunk of your calendar has bookings from repeat clients or memberships, you’re not starting from zero each month. That steadiness helps you plan staffing, inventory, and marketing, so you can better allocate budget.
Word of mouth: Happy, repeat clients do your marketing for you. They leave reviews, post photos, and bring friends. Those referrals tend to be a better fit and convert faster because they already trust the person who sent them.
Default-choice effect: When clients trust you and know what to expect from your products or services, they’re less likely to “shop around.” Instead, they’ll constantly default to you, which would make it even more difficult for your competitors who are trying to win over those clients.
Also read: How To Make Your One-Person Business Look More Professional
How To Keep Clients Coming Back: 8 Proven Tips To Improve Customer Retention
Read on for highly recommended customer retention strategies you should follow, especially if you run a small business.
1. Recognize customer milestones with some little surprises
Start by deciding which two to three customer milestones you’ll always acknowledge with a small surprise gift. These can include their birthday month, fifth purchase or appointment, 10th class attended, one-year anniversary as a member, and more.
As for the gift, it doesn’t always have to be a big-budget one as long as it feels genuine. For instance, you can give them a one-time upgrade for their next visit, free samples, or a gift card with a handwritten thank-you note.
Lastly, don’t overdo the gifts; do it only once in a while so they feel special. Also, make sure it’s something the customer can actually use, so that it lands well.
2. Level up your customer support
Being proactive instead of waiting for issues to arise is always a great way to ensure your clients or customers will keep coming back.
For example, after a delivery or onboarding, check in on clients with a short message that anticipates questions they may have, with some links to quick answers (e.g, a 60-second video, a one-page guide, or a checklist).
Publish those same answers where people naturally look, such as your FAQ page, product pages, booking confirmations, and pinned posts. This will ensure your customers can help themselves without needing to contact support.
Also, set clear response times by channel and stick to them. Even a simple “We reply to emails within one business day; chat is same-day” helps give customers some peace of mind. If you need more time, say when you’ll be back with an update, and keep that promise.
Put this into practice with Bookedin
3. Build a brand community
Consider creating spaces for customers to connect with you and with one another — think a members’ group chat, forum thread, or a monthly live Q&A. Keep these spaces practical by sharing tips, templates, and behind-the-scenes looks, then invite customers to talk about what has worked for them.
Tie it back to your product by anchoring conversations to real-use cases (e.g., “Show us your setup”) and outcomes (e.g., “Post your before/after look”).
Community content should help people get more value from what they’ve already bought, so they’re likely to get your product or service more often, get better results, and keep choosing you over your competitors.
You can also use the space to spotlight customer stories (with their permission, of course), while making it easy for newcomers to participate with starter prompts. The goal is to help solve customers’ problems and make everyone feel welcome, so they’ll stick around and perhaps even bring others with them
4. Pick loyalty incentives that suit your goal
This means that if your main goal is to get more frequent bookings or purchases, use points or punch cards that reward each visit. Alternatively, if you want higher purchase totals, consider “spend milestones” that unlock a perk at set amounts (e.g., “Spend $300, get free shipping for a whole year”).
Whatever you choose, keep the math easy and the rules simple so people are more easily encouraged to participate. Tell them exactly how to earn, how to redeem, and what the perk is worth in plain language.
Don’t forget to show their progress on receipts, in confirmation emails, and in their account, too. That way, they’ll always know how much more they need to spend or book in order to get the next perk.
5. Create limited-time offers every now and then
Time-bound promos and discounts are great, but it’s best to do these sparingly. Otherwise, customers may always just wait for the next one instead of buying at full price right away, which may hurt profit.
Give a clear reason and deadline, then end it on time and return to regular pricing. When it’s over, remove the code and banners the same day so there’s no confusion.
You might want to tie these offers to clear calendar moments like the holiday season, store anniversaries, end-of-season cleanups, or new collection launches. These dates feel natural and relevant, so the promo will feel like a special event.
Also read: Psychological Pricing Tactics Every Service Business Should Use
6. Make subscriptions, packages, and maintenance plans a no-brainer
If your product or service works best on a schedule, you should nudge customers toward using a recurring plan by default rather than placing one-off orders every time.
Here’s a quick guide on what plan you should offer, depending on your business:
Packages for repeat sessions (e.g., treatments, classes, coaching)
Subscriptions for items people reorder (e.g., coffee, skincare products, printer ink)
Maintenance plans for ongoing care (e.g., equipment servicing, annual checkups)
Ensure the value is obvious at a glance. This includes spelling out how much time and/or money they’ll save, and how the plan keeps results consistent.
Also, give customers control with easy pause, skip, and cancel options so it never feels like a trap. When they know they can adjust plans without hassle, they’re more likely to sign up, stick with it, and recommend it to others.
See how it works on Bookedin
7. Provide more choices (when it actually helps)
More options can boost repeat buying, but only if they remove common hassles or solve actual problems — whether it’s not enough variety in time slots, no easy bundles that cover the basics, or limited payment options.
Don’t expand your menu just to look busy; instead, add choices that’ll make it easier for consumers to decide on what product or service to get.
Below are some common aspects where having more choices helps, plus some examples:
Time or access: Add one earlier and one later appointment slot; offer pickup alongside shipping; add virtual sessions alongside in-person
Size or duration: Offer small/standard/large sizes; a 30-minute and a 60-minute version; 5-pack and 10-pack bundles
How to pay: Accept Apple Pay/Google Pay for easier checkout, and offer installments or a small deposit for bigger purchases
Overall, your goal should be to meet customers where they are, not to overwhelm them with way too many options.
8. Act on customer feedback and track the right metrics
If you want more customers to keep coming back, it’s best to ask them for feedback — and actually use that feedback. You can add a one-question check-in after each purchase or visit (e.g., “How was your experience?”) plus a field where they can suggest an improvement.
Read responses weekly, group these into a few buckets (e.g., price, timing, unclear instructions, quality, support), and prioritize the issues that show up the most. Then, track a few basics so you know if the changes you’ve made are working:
Retention rate: Percentage of clients who return in a set period
Repeat visit rate or time-to-rebook: How often and how quickly people come back
Customer satisfaction score: How satisfied they are and how likely they are to recommend you
Top churn reasons: Why people leave or stop purchasing
Review these monthly, and pick one or two things to fix. Finally, make sure to close the loop by letting your customers know about those fixes. Fast, visible improvements show you’re listening and keep customers confident about choosing you again.
Also read: How To Handle Difficult Clients & Avoid Negative Reviews
Key Takeaways on How To Keep Clients Coming Back
Improving your customer or client retention isn’t about doing fancy tricks. Rather, it’s about keeping simple habits that make your target market feel seen and heard.
Recognize milestones, make support proactive, build a useful community, pick loyalty perks that fit your goal, run occasional time-bound offers, make routine purchases effortless with subscriptions or packages, add a few smart choices, and listen to feedback while tracking a few basic numbers.
Do these things consistently, and you’ll win repeat business even when you have plenty of competition out there.
P.S. — If you run a service business, figuring out how to keep clients coming back is much easier with Bookedin. With this scheduling tool, you can set up a branded booking page, keep client notes, take deposits, auto-send reminders to clients, add buffer times to ensure service quality, and more!
Plus, there’s a free 14-day trial if you want to test out Bookedin first.
