Customer retention or customer acquisition Is the proverbial question that has been asked by business owners worldwide. Believe it or not savvy business owners have realized that spending a fraction of their marketing budget on retaining and incentivising existing customers could be significantly rewarding than spending all of it on customer acquisition. While both are important, never lose sight of customer retention.
From our personal experience, we can claim that as an agency we generate a lot of business from our repeat customers. Keeping the customers you tried so hard or paid so much to acquire is “as important” if not more important than getting new ones. There is enough market research data to prove that it costs 30x more to acquire a new customer vs retaining an existing customer. In fact the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70% as opposed to a 0-20% probability of selling to a new customer. Now, comes the big question – how to keep your current set of customers happy and satisfied?
- Engage. Engage. Engage. Communicating proactively with customers can yield a lot of positive results. It shows you care. It builds trust and fosters brand loyalty.
- Make the customer experience so amazing that they keep coming back. Handwritten notes, birthday and special anniversary wishes, complimentary gift wrapping – the list goes on…
- Tailor the loyalty program to your brand and customers. Communicate with existing customers, take constant feedback and build a strategy that is built on the inputs from your very own loyal customers. It is also important to differentiate and reward the customers who are “spending more” on your site and they will surely return the favor by staying loyal to your brand.
- Welcome feedback – both positive and negative. Every complaint is a blessing in disguise as it allows you to “fix what’s broken”. Never compromise on honesty and transparency. Customers value integrity. We all make mistakes but taking ownership and getting it back on track is what pleases customers.
- Incentivize customers through timely promotions. We all love it when someone remembers our special days and wishes us or send us flowers or does something nice for us. The same applies to eCommerce. Make your customers feel special by sending them handwritten notes or special birthday discount coupons or a limited time offer that they can’t overlook.
If you already have a Shopify store and are wondering how you can put these strategies to work, watch this space because we have something exciting coming your way.
