Introductory Offer Campaigns for New Client Retention

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– the best introductory offer approaches to get new clients to come back without spreading your profits too thin.

How do you strike a balance between a great introductory offer and too good to maintain? When attempting to grow your client base and attract new loyal clientele, you can go too far in creating the perfect introductory offer. These “too good to be true” enticements don’t attract the potentially loyal clients you need to maintain your business; they usually attract the opportunists that are purely out for the best deal they can find. These opportunists will jump from business to business in search of the best offers available. They don’t add value or make you any profit in the long term.

When you want to entice new clients away from your local competition, you have to strike a delicate balance between value, excellence and profit. A few tried and true methods help you attract new business and keep those new clients on your books.

What is an Introductory Offer?

Before we start looking at introductory offer campaigns that work, what are you introducing?

Introductory campaigns can be you trying to introduce yourself to new clients or launching new services or products. In both cases, you are attempting to entice people into trying something new. Whether we like to admit it or not, most people are resistant to change without an incentive.

Price to Entice

It can be tempting to pitch your introductory offer prices well below any competition. However, clients have become significantly more aware of market pricing and how much companies can actually “afford” to offer. Excessive discounts from the standard price lead your potential clients to believe you are overpricing in the first place and will be less likely to come back once they have sampled your fantastic offer.

Choose a price point that enables you to collect a profit on the service, but low enough to be tempting to someone else’s client and competitive with their pricing. Depending on the type of service you offer, a general rule of thumb is not to go lower than 20-30% of the standard pricing. Any more than that, and your newly acquired clients will disappear as soon as they are asked to pay full price. 

It’s important to realise that while people love getting a great deal, you want to attract clients who can afford your usual prices and are willing to pay them regularly. 

Coupons & Discount Vouchers

When you’re trying to attract new clients to your business, you need to advertise. One of the best introductory offer advertisements to catch the eye of the new client on the lookout is a coupon or discount voucher for a first visit. You can use them as stand-alone offers in a magazine, social media or even physical flyers and cards. 

Alternatively, you can use discount vouchers in email marketing to existing clients as a way to encourage ‘referring a friend’. You can’t ignore the power of a personal recommendation for attracting new clients.

What’s more, by including existing clients in the offer to their new referrals, you ensure loyal clientele don’t feel unappreciated. 

Bundles and Packages

One way to ensure your new clients come back is to create appointment bundles or packages. These packages allow them to repeat their excellent service at a discounted rate for prepayment. Few people will pay in advance and then never return* – not unless they have money to burn or really hate your business.

*An exception to this trend is gym memberships and class package bundles. People will continue to keep paying to come back for months without cancelling – even when they don’t use the services.

One of the downfalls of the introductory offer is that securing the new client all rests on that first appointment. Unfortunately, unless you make a thoroughly excellent impression, you can’t build a steady relationship with the client in one visit. It can take several appointments to engage clients to the point of loyalty and paying full price for everything.

From educational classes to repeat manicures, engaging a new client to purchase a package deal prompts further business. That prompt can often be the push that allows you to build the relationship. If you can’t get the client to pay for multiple appointments before their first session, you can always upsell afterwards.

You can also create packages and bundles that include service extras and required products. Some examples could be a training course bundle with discounted supplies like textbooks and materials. Alternately, it could be a beginners primer course in yoga, with an associated mat and additional props.

Add Value and Scope

A great alternative to discounting the services you offer is to add value without significantly increasing the cost to you. If you provide value additions or products to your services, this is a great way to add perceived value to a new client without costing you your profit margin.

Service add-ons are those little extras that enhance your service to the client’s benefit but cost the business a relatively nominal amount. Under normal circumstances, they are an ideal way to boost revenue for next to no outlay. However, when you are advertising an introductory offer, providing a luxury or upgraded service without a charge means your new clients effectively pay full price. However, the client also experiences the service extra and may be persuaded to purchase it on future visits—both a new client and a promotional tool in one.

The Bottom Line

And it’s all about the bottom line, yours and your clients’. Your bottom line will stay healthy with a steady influx of new clients and continue to remain in the black if you can keep them around. 

The introductory offer is not just about attracting new clients, it’s about attracting the right clients for your business.

No one objects to a great deal. However, no matter how amazing your introductory offer is, you’ll only keep your new prospects by making it worth their while. With excellent service provision and value for money (even if your services are “reassuringly expensive” – they still need to be worth it), you can build a relationship that will strengthen their loyalty. And there is nothing better for attracting new clients than having plenty of happy existing ones.