Imagine if just three minutes a day could make your customers more loyal, come back more often, and spend more money—without you having to fork out any money?
For retailers and hospitality businesses, consistency is key. What you do every day matters more than what you do occasionally. Here’s one daily ritual that can make a difference—it only takes a few minutes a day.
Problem Definition
If your business is anything like mine, you are constantly busy with something. One of the difficult tasks that we all have is to make sure customers return. You know instinctively that a customer who returns more often is good for your business.
Where we lose out is not in delivering great service—that we do in buckets—but in following up with our regulars consistently. And that consistency is vital.
We all have day-to-day operations and niggles to attend to, and it’s easy to miss the small, regular touches that keep customers engaged. Unlike large brands with loyalty departments and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, we need lightweight, easy tactics to stay in our customers’ minds.
Without a retention habit, even happy customers drift away.
The Scary Numbers… That You Can Turn Around
“Industry-wide benchmarks show that retail businesses typically retain just 63% of their customers annually, while in hospitality—including restaurants—the rate drops further to only 55%.” (Source: Exploding Topics)
For local businesses grounded in their communities—like neighborhood cafés, vape stores, pet shops, restaurants, salons, or boutiques—this presents a clear opportunity. With thoughtful engagement and simple habits, your business can significantly outperform these averages.
That’s why it is so important to create small, daily retention habits. This can directly counter the one-time purchase pattern and get your customers to visit and purchase more frequently.
Scary Numbers – Explained
Keeping it simple: a 63% retention rate means that out of every 100 people who buy from your shop, 63 will come back—and 37 won’t.
It shows how good your business is at keeping customers interested and coming back again. The higher your retention rate, the better your business is doing at building lasting relationships.
If you don’t know your own rate yet, don’t worry. Start by asking yourself:
“How many of my customers do I see more than once?”
If you run a loyalty program or track sales, you might be able to pull those numbers. If not, even estimating from your daily experience can give you a rough idea.
Why Even One Returning Customer Matters
Imagine your average customer spends £15 each time they visit your business.
- If you can get just one of those ‘lost’ customers to return one more time each week, that’s £15 a week—or £780 a year.
- Now imagine getting five customers to do the same. That’s an extra £3,900 in revenue per year—without spending a penny more on marketing.
This is the power of small daily habits that keep people coming back.
The 3-Minute Daily Retention Ritual
Here is a simple ritual to follow—a repeatable habit that keeps customers coming back:
1. Choose Your Trigger Time (30 seconds)
Pick a consistent moment in your daily routine: opening the shop, post-lunch lull, or pre-close. Attach this habit to an existing one so you don’t forget it (this is called habit stacking).
2. Reach Out to One Past Customer (1.5 minutes)
Send a short, personal message via SMS, WhatsApp, or email. Thank them for their last visit, offer a friendly reminder, or mention something relevant (e.g., “Your favorite blend is back!”).
Tools like WhatsApp Business or your loyalty platform’s dashboard can help you identify recently inactive customers.
3. Record the Contact (1 minute)
Keep a simple notebook, Google Sheet, or use your POS/loyalty program to track who you contacted. Add the date and customer name. This builds accountability and prevents duplicate messages.
Tips for Effective Messages
- Be authentic and use their name.
- Never ask for something—offer value or connection.
- Mention specific products or preferences to show you remember them.
3 Steps to Getting Started
Immediate Steps
- Pick Your Tool: Decide whether you’ll use SMS, WhatsApp, email, or phone.
- Prepare a Template: Write 2–3 flexible message templates to save time.
Example:
“Hi [First Name], just a quick note to say we really appreciated your visit last week. If you’re around, we’ve got something special you’d love!”
- Track 7 Days: Commit to doing this for the next 7 business days. Log who you message. At the end of the week, check if any replied, returned, or interacted.
Within 30 Days
Measure how many customers responded or revisited. Consider automating this with email flows or loyalty software if results are positive.
Within 90 Days
Incorporate this into your staff onboarding—make it a cultural habit.
Act This Week
Try the 3-minute daily ritual for the next 7 days. Track your outreach and monitor the response.