A traditional marketing strategy is all about acquiring a new customer base. Although businesses should always hunt for new prospects, they must not neglect the goldmine of existing customers. That being said, customer retention, as it is called in marketing terms, is the most crucial part of a marketing strategy, often ignored by business owners.
Your existing customer base is a valuable asset, for you have already instilled a sense of trust in them. You are likely to build a long-term relationship with these existing customers, whereby they are likely to increase your sales with repeat purchases. But how exactly would you increase the customer retention rate?
It is simple, we have put together a bunch of actionable customer retention strategies that you can execute and make the most of your current customer base. So go ahead and give it a read!
Effective Customer Retention Strategies
Many merchants tend to have customer retention strategies on hand, but they likely make the mistake of going overboard. Hence, a good retention strategy coupled with effective use of the marketing channels makes for the perfect recipe to boost your customer retention and better customer satisfaction. .
We have put together some super simple customer retention strategies, that can definitely amp up your customer retention rates:
Make use of Email Marketing:
Email Marketing is a powerful tool to hit up your customers with new product launches, offers, discounts, loyalty programs, and more! Ask us, why? Well, that is because email is not affected by flickering algorithms like social media. Merchants must every now and then follow up with their existing customers, with news and updates and if possible, offers and discounts.
Offer Hyper-Personalization:
Personalization is a key to not only acquiring new customers but also enhancing the experience of the existing ones. Use the user’s behavioral data and customer feedback, to provide unique experiences to each customer.
Recommend New Products Often:
One of the most important strategies that big giants like Amazon use, is recommending new products to their customers. According to statistics, 31% of e-commerce sales have been accounted for through product recommendations. If you want your existing customers to buy again, offer a suggestion to make it happen.
Use Product Images Strategically:
However basic this may sound as product images play a crucial role in building the trust of your existing customers and thereby enhancing their experience. This is because customers tend to not purchase products from online stores for the fear that they may not match when they receive them in reality. Hence the best way to conquer this is by enhancing your website with product images strategically. For instance, if you have model-supported product images, couple them with some real customers-supported product images.
Omni-Channel Presence
This strategy is literally the need of the hour. With almost 80% of the customers switching to online shopping, it is important for businesses to establish their online presence on different sales channels. This strategy is not only effective for acquiring new customers but also boosts the retention rate. This is because existing customers are likely to make repeat purchases if you offer them sales on channels they most prefer.
Offer E-commerce Discounts
Discounts can be a boon for conversions, as well as for improving customer loyalty, but you need to know when to stop and not go overboard. Discounts are a good incentive that has a short-term impact. Hence businesses must strategically use their E-commerce discounts to reward the loyalty of their existing customers.
Customer and Support Services
According to a survey, around 66% of the internet users globally want the brands to listen to customer feedback. When the focus of the business is to build a segment of happy customers, it will naturally result in brand loyalty and customer retention.
Improve the Speed of E-commerce Website:
Most consumers these days, look out for a seamless shopping experience. One such crucial aspect of enhancing the customer experience is the speed of the shopping website. Imagine, the customer, having to wait for minutes for the site to load. Frustrating much, right? Hence, it is important to ensure that the loading time of your e-commerce site is minimum. This is great not only for the existing customer experience but also from the SEO point of view, as it is likely to reduce the bounce rates too!
Thus if you provide efficient customer service, with accessible customer support, incorporate the customer feedback and address the customer queries, you’ll likely have a good customer retention rate.
Key Takeaways
We hope that these bunch of customer retention strategies help you boost your customer purchase frequency. However, the idea here is to employ these strategies without really being too salesy. After all, which customer would like to be constantly bombarded with product recommendations or emails right?
Connect with us, in case you are planning to set up these Customer Retention Strategies for your E-commerce store. We would love to help you out.
