It’s no secret that returning buyers can be the very ones to bring an immense share of your profit. This is exactly why it makes sense to avoid the “one-time sales” approach in the eCommerce business by all means.
Without a doubt, there’s much you can do to improve your online store and make users happier: boost site speed, enhance its performance, and even get a progressive web application to lift your mobile conversions. Yet on this page, we’ll focus on those “slam dunk moves” that can help you to put acquired clients back into the sales loop. Let’s dive in!
1. Uplift Your Loyalty & Referral Programs
Good-old loyalty and referral programs are the first points you can start with. Various memberships and clubs can be getting you lots of returning clients.
The deal here is to take such “sign-ups” a step further than an offer to give simple notifications on your new arrivals. Privileges, special offers, discounts, better and more beneficial buying terms, and other perks are what people crave! Therefore, do your best to motivate your “regulars” for choosing you with sweeteners of some sort. The same applies to your gratitude in this form for recommending your store to a friend and getting you more clients.
Below is a screenshot taken on the official NARS Cosmetics website. As you can see, their loyalty program offers mutually beneficial terms for their buyers and their friends, the Holiday Collection deal provides 20% off which is a neat deal.
Screenshot taken on the official NARS Cosmetics website
2. Start Using Social Media to the Fullest
Okay, so it’s more than clear that social media is among the most influential channels that you, as a business owner, must surely give a lot of attention to. This is a perfect way to connect with your audience apart from your site.
Your social media content plan can include posts with your products, you can inform people about new product lines and arrivals, share customer reviews. A good idea here is to engage people to make posts and then repost them across your accounts. For example, you can collect user-generated posts in your Instagram Stories.
Undoubtedly, you mustn’t miss out on the opportunity to sell using social media. Thus, take the time to put up “Shops” on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram if these channels suit your niche.
Take a look at the screenshots from the official Levi’s Instagram account. There are two circles collecting Stories of user posts (“As Seen On I” and “As Seen On II”). Plus there’s a “View Shop” button and posts with tagged products that are up for sale. The biggest advantage here is that by tapping on a post with products, users can see some details on it and hit the link to your store. And since this is done on social media, such shopping can be casual, spontaneous, and bring your followers back to the store.
Screenshot taken on the official Levi’s Instagram account
3. Yes, Email Marketing Still Works
If you think your drip campaigns through, you can really boost your chances at retaining clients. When emails are interesting, have catchy and alluring headlines, the email open rates are much higher. This is the place to get creative, so don’t overlook this marketing strategy.
Personalize all the communication, this will help you to make the message “speak” with that very pair of eyes that’ll be reading it. Plus, as you craft your smart mailers, spice things up by offering bonuses and perks. This is your opportunity to give an extra pluck at your fishing rod.
The neater each of your emails will be, the better. As long as you don’t swamp your users too often, emails can be effective.
4. Pay Attention to Client Reviews
Customer feedback is a really important leverage that can be used for customer acquisition. After all, we like to hear about a product from those who obtain it (as we tend to have a dash of skepticism regarding what the site “promises”). Therefore, getting as many product reviews as you can is a goal to have in mind.
But what does this have to do with retention? As mentioned before, email marketing is one of the tactics you can use to convince users to leave a review. Mail confirmations that are sent upon order delivery can contain an invite to leave a review in exchange for a bonus for the next purchase. And voila!
Also, bear in mind that you must reply to reviews. Your feedback and attention matter a lot, so even if a client review is bad (especially if it is bad), you should get down to the bottom of the problem. Ignoring it can hurt your business since you don’t want to lose this client nor do you want them to ruin the impressions of others.
A nice example of that is the “Product Ratings” section on the official MAC Cosmetics website. The negative 2-star review was responded to by the MAC Artist. The company apologizes for the poor experience and offers an exchange/return solution to make it up.
Screenshot taken on the official MAC Cosmetics website
5. Run Surveys & Polls to Gain Insights
There’s a lot of power in just asking a question. Communicating with the audience and gathering their opinions via surveys is a source of valuable data that you can use as you make decisions. Instead of making wild guesses, bringing up the matter in a simple questionnaire once in a while can give you a lot.
To say the least, you’ll learn about the specific needs of your actual buyers, and they’ll feel that their point of view matters too. Again, as shortly covered before, you can even run such polls or short surveys right in your Instagram Stories. Your website and mailers can also contain them.
6. Promo Codes & Coupons Are a Goldmine
People love to grab a good deal or catch a bargain. This is exactly the reason to start thinking through your business’s policy on coupons and codes. Limited-time offers and promo codes can create a feeling of urgency and cause an influx of returning buyers.
The key is to be consistent in your terms, limit the duration of the code’s activity, and to show it on your website and other channels carefully.
For instance, here’s how Reebok does it on their official website. Right on the first banner of the site, we can see a sweet 40% off deal that can be activated using the “JOYFUL” code in the checkout. Importantly, we see a clear deadline “12/15”.
Screenshot taken on the official Reebok website
7. Put Together Blocks With Gift Ideas
The last point that we’d like to bring up deals with gifts. Shopping for presents is a hard and stressful thing for so many people, thus, why not give your customers a hand?
Crafting sections with different pre-selected gift options that’ll be suitable for various recipients, fit certain budgets, and solve other “pointy” dilemmas such as gift wrapping will do your customer retention plans some good. Share your advice, ask questions, offer solutions, and “ta-da”, more of your existing shoppers will buy from you!
Case in point, the official Burberry website places an entire “Gifts” tab as the very first one in their top site menu. We can see over 10 collections, each assembled on different pages.
Screenshot taken on the official Burberry website
To Conclude
Summing up, there are numerous things you can do to convert your customers into regulars. With a proper approach, the needed personal attention, and presence throughout numerous channels, you can increase the probability of clients returning to your store. Hope that the tips in this post will give you a hand!