BIG ROOTS
MARKETING

CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Your best
customer is one
you already have
For tourism businesses, that means someone who visits again next year - and tells their friends.
For local services, that means a client who rebooks automatically and never thinks to look elsewhere.
5×
It costs about five times more to win a new customer than to keep one you already have.
Which makes it strange that almost all marketing budget goes on the first kind. The people who already chose you once are the cheapest growth available, and most businesses have no way of contacting them.
97%
read reviews for local businesses before choosing
1 in 3
small businesses hold no customer contact details at all
Review figure: BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
The Sequence
How a one-off becomes a regular
Four steps. None of them require you to remember to do anything.
1
2
3
4
Capture the detail.
An email address at the till, the checkout or the booking form. Without this, nothing else on this page is possible.
Ask for the review.
An automatic request a few days later, timed for when they’re still pleased with you rather than three weeks on.
Stay on the radar.
A short email four or five times a year. Not a newsletter nobody asked for, create a reason to come back.
Give them a reason.
A loyalty reward, an early-booking offer, or a January email about next summer. Small, specific, and sent on time.
The same system, two different jobs
Once in place, it happens without you chasing it.
Tourism & Hospitality
Visitors who loved it are your best marketing.
Capturing customer contact details so you can actually stay in touch
“Leave a Review” campaigns that build your reputation on autopilot
Post-visit email sequences that feel personal, not automated
Seasonal and repeat visitor campaigns to fill quieter periods
Loyalty schemes and rewards for the regulars who keep coming back
Special offers, promotions and cross-selling to increase spend
Someone who visited once becomes a person who returns every year, leaves you a glowing review and recommends you to everyone they know.
Local trades & services
A client who chose you once is far easier to keep
Capturing contact details so you’re never relying on them to remember you
“Leave a Review” campaigns that build trust before you’ve even met
Automated rebooking reminders so your diary refills itself
Re-engagement campaigns for clients who’ve gone quiet
Loyalty schemes that make regulars feel valued enough to stay
Offers, upselling and cross-selling to increase what each client spends
A full diary, a steady stream of new reviews bringing in new clients, and existing clients who feel valued enough to never look elsewhere.
The research
I’ve spent months looking at what Yorkshire Coast businesses actually do online
Not just whether people can find them — websites, online selling, reviews, social, and what happens after someone’s visited once. Some of what I found genuinely surprised me.
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The Blog
COMING SOON
Proper guides to running a business online in a tourist town — being found in January for a booking in July, what your website actually needs, and how to get someone to come back.