You’ve developed a profitable workshop and a marketing plan to get registrations, and the event was a success! But if you really want to leverage the experience to boost your business, you’ll need to continue marketing to attendees to get them coming back to your shop over and over again.

Research by Invesp Consulting, a conversion rate optimization agency, shows it is easier and less expensive to market to existing customers than it is to attract new customers. Increasing your customer retention rate by just 5 percent can raise your profits by 25 to 95 percent, Invesp found, which means marketing to attendees after your workshop is well worth the time. Here are some strategies to help you remarket.

Start Marketing During the Workshop

Kelsey Thompson, AIFD, of Bloom Floral & Home Studio in Algona, Iowa, uses her workshops to market the value of using a florist. She creates class projects that are a little challenging to help attendees gain an appreciation for the work florists do — which she says can go a long way toward getting future sales.

“I’ve had so many people attend a class and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is hard and time consuming!’

So after attending a class, they have so much more appreciation for the professionalism that we have and the design work we do,” says Thompson. “I like seeing them ordering arrangements and saying, ‘I don’t want to make this myself, but I appreciate the artistry and the time this takes.’ Down the road, I see aftereffects of people that attend workshops and now are better customers.”

Thompson also entices them with a discount so that after the class they can shop the sales floor and get up to 20 percent off their purchases.

Use Bounce Back Coupons

After hosting a workshop, Cassie Silva Osterloth of Wonderland Floral Art and Gifts in St. Petersburg, Florida, suggests sending attendees a thank you note and care instructions for their creations via email, along with a “bounce back” coupon for a future in-store purchase.

“I would suggest a ‘First-Time Workshop Attendee’ coupon, so it’s not expected to get a discount after every class,” she explained. “I also recommend a short turnaround time with the coupon, with an expiration date of no more than a month from the day it’s sent. Also, be specific about what the coupon can be applied to.”

Promote Your Rewards Program

Although this benefit is not limited to attendees of her workshops, Marilyn Schweizer of Main Street Floral Company in Battle Ground, Washington, does make them aware of the shop’s rewards program, which is a good way to convert attendees into regular customers, she says.

“You get $15 off for every $200 you spend and our POS system keeps track of that,” she says. “That keeps our customers coming back.”

Looking for more information about workshops? Click here to read about developing workshop projects that offer value, make a profit, and clear out low-performing inventory. Click here to read about how to market the event to get registrations.

Kenya McCullum is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.