[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_single_image image=”31524″ img_size=”large” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]In today’s day and age, customers are more than just satisfied with their purchases. They want to feel like they’re part of the family that is your company.
The idea of customer retention is an important one for any business, but it can be particularly challenging for eCommerce sites that have limited interaction with customers other than through email or social media channels.
That doesn’t mean you should give up though!
Remember, customer retention is just as valuable, if not more so than acquiring new customers.
So how do you keep your current customers happy?
Customer Retention Tips for eCommerce Sites
These tips will help guide you on how to keep your customers happy and coming back again and again.
1. Personalize Customer Shopping Experience
Personalizing the customer shopping experience in your eCommerce site can be a game-changer.
In fact, research shows that shoppers are more likely to buy something, and spend more on it when they feel like their needs have been understood.
You also see an uptick in customer loyalty when you personalize the shopping experience for them – this is because personalized offers tend to take into account things like what items they’ve viewed or bought before, how often they shop with you, and whether they’re new to your site or not.
With this, the more you know about your customers, the more personalized shopping experience they can expect.
This is where customer data management comes into play and allows retailers to provide their customers with one-time offers, targeted content, and even coupons that are tailored to each individual’s tastes.
2. Improve Site Performance
Running a retail business can be tough, but it’s even more difficult when customers are not satisfied with their experience.
If you’re noticing some of your shoppers abandoning their carts and leaving the site as soon as they land, there may be some technical issues on your site that need to be addressed.
For example, when customers are unable to navigate your website because it’s too slow or crashes, they will likely look elsewhere for their purchase needs.
This leads to loss of revenue and unhappy customers who are unlikely to return in the future.
Customers want quick load times and dependable service; they won’t wait around for your site to load or be frustrated by errors that cause them to leave before purchasing anything!
3. Keep Content Fresh
A customer’s experience with your store is what will determine how they feel about you.
You may be thinking that you don’t have a lot of time for anything other than running your business and it’s true, but implementing a few small changes here and there can make a huge difference!
You could start this process by updating your blog or website content on a consistent basis. Try posting more than once per week (or even more often).
If you don’t know what type of content would interest your audience, try asking them! They’ll let you know what they like best.
Keep in mind that if the content on your site is stale, then it can be a turn-off for potential customers that are considering making a purchase from you.
4. Reward Loyalty
Do you have customers who are loyal to your brand? You may want to consider rewarding them with a loyalty program.
Loyalty programs offer benefits, exclusive deals, and other incentives for your customers to stay committed to your store.
These programs can help increase customer retention rates as well as encourage new customer acquisition.
It is important to note, however, that it takes time and effort to cultivate an engaged customer base through rewarding them for their loyalty.
You may not want or be able to offer all options at once but they are worth considering as part of your marketing strategy in order to gain more loyal customers who will buy from you again and again.
5. Stay in Touch
Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. They’re the ones that keep you going, and without them, there would be no company to speak of.
Not only do they make up a significant part of your revenue, but they also help shape your brand reputation by spreading word-of-mouth about their experiences with your products and services.
In order to get this customer retention loop going continuously, it’s important to stay in touch with customers on a regular basis so that you can find out what is causing them to leave or shop elsewhere for an alternative product or service instead of coming back.
Here’s how to keep in touch with your customers:
- Send automated emails that highlight new products or sales.
- Ask for feedback on their experience when they make a purchase and use what you learn to improve your products and services.
- Thank them personally when they buy something from you by sending an email thanking them for their patronage.
- Keep in touch through social media by sharing content about your company, promotions, and offers every now and then.
6. Interact Via Social Media
Social media is an important aspect of your eCommerce store, but it can also be a difficult undertaking.
It’s best to take the time and set up social media accounts on all major platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, and more.
This will help you interact with customers in order to increase customer retention in your eCommerce store.
The most important thing about social media is that you are posting relevant content for your audience so they are interested in what you have to say or sell.
Competition is fierce when it comes to marketing yourself online so this step can be tough if you don’t know where to start or what type of posts would work well for your business.
7. Keep Product Quality High
There are many benefits to having happy customers on your site. For one, they will more than likely come back and purchase again.
But it’s hard to keep them satisfied if you’re constantly selling products that don’t meet their expectations.
As an eCommerce store owner, there is a lot of pressure on you to maintain high-quality standards at all times in order for your business to thrive.
A key way of doing this is by using the best possible suppliers for each product category you sell so that the customer has no reason not to be pleased with what they get when they buy from your eCommerce store.
Generally, here are some of the things you can do to ensure that you only have high-quality products in your eCommerce store:
- Know how to pick out good suppliers
- Find new suppliers if the ones you currently work with are no longer meeting customer needs
- Make sure there’s enough time every day to review every order
- Invest in tools and software that’ll help you find problems before they become huge issues
8. Research Your Target Market
Your eCommerce store is only as good as the number of returning customers, and it’s important to know what your target market wants.
This way, you can make sure that you’re giving them what they want and keep them coming back for more!
There are a few things that will help increase retention rates by knowing your target market:
- What do they like?
- How old are they?
- What types of items do they buy?
- Is there anything special about their personality or interests?
- What messages resonate with them the most (i.e., if your customers have children, appealing to parents)?
- What type of demographic does your business cater to?
- Do they prefer being contacted via email or phone?
9. Get Personal
When a customer shops on your eCommerce store, they’re looking for more than just a product.
They want to feel like they belong and that the company values them as an individual.
This is why it’s so important to get personal with your customers by asking questions about their interests and preferences.
Find out what makes someone tick and you’ll be able to better serve them in the future!
Some of the things you can do to give them a more personalized experience include giving them discounts on their birthdays or sending them a birthday card with a discount code inside, to sending an email thanking them for their purchase.
These simple gestures go a long way in making customers feel valued and more likely to come back next time they’re looking for something new.
10. Don’t Ignore Complaints
Most eCommerce stores are making the same mistakes when it comes to customer complaints.
If you don’t take care of customers who have issues, they will go out of their way to find other ways to get their needs met and your business will lose them for good.
If a customer is complaining about an item they ordered, make sure that there’s no confusion or misinformation about what was ordered and then give them options on how best to handle the situation.
Also, don’t ignore comments on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, respond in a timely manner with quality dialogue so that it doesn’t turn into something bigger than it should be.
Wrapping It Up…
It’s no secret that customer retention is one of the most important factors in any successful business. Customers are always looking for new and exciting products, but they come back to stores that provide them with a consistent experience.
The more customers you can retain, the less money you will need to spend on acquiring new ones! With this in mind, it’s important for eCommerce sites to focus on customer retention instead of just trying to get new customers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
