Return customers generate the majority of your profit and are, by far, the most reliable source of income for any business. Other than this, regular customers are the ones leaving reviews and rating your business on databases and registries. They’re also the ones giving your business WOM (word of mouth) recommendations.
However, improving your customer retention isn’t an easy process. Some believe that the only way to achieve it is to provide exemplary customer service. It’s true that customer service is perhaps the most important part of retaining customers, which is why so many companies are investing in a hybrid call center, improved agent training, integrating the latest technology, and so on. But good customer service is not the only way, seeing as how there are a couple of other strategies that might work as well.
1. Personalized browsing experience
By being great at suggesting other products they might be interested in, you’ll give your customers another reason to return to your store and give your offer one more go. The funny thing is that in this particular scenario, your brand benefits more from your customer not buying the product. This is due to the fact that, after they’ve purchased all they want or need, they have no reason for turning to e-commerce. Also, even if they don’t notice the item right away, it’s bound to remain somewhere in the back of their minds.
2. Purchasing without having to register
Even though having your customers register in order to buy from you benefits your brand in many different ways, a lot of people prefer a simpler check-out process. Now, just because you’ve failed to collect their personal data, their email and can’t really confirm that the new customer is the same one as the last time around, this doesn’t mean that these people aren’t return customers. Namely, if they complete the purchase seamlessly, the next time they decide to do the same, they’re bound to return to your e-store.
3. Invest in your team
The next thing you need to understand is the fact that you need to give some loyalty in order to get some loyalty back. Therefore, the way in which you take care of your team will speak volumes about you as an organization. If you show the lack of care for your team, your customers will expect you to treat them the same way. So, make sure to pay your team accordingly and in time, which is something that a personalized payroll card can help you with, as well as to give them bonuses when they earn it. Needless to say, this also generates some word-of-mouth recommendations.
4. Value through content
Offering value through products is not the only way to provide your customers with value or generate loyalty. You can also generate some value through highly targeted content. If your content is something that your audience can learn from, something that provides them with an invaluable insight or, at the very least, something they find entertaining, they’re bound to come back for more. Once they get familiar enough with your brand, they’re more likely to buy from you than anyone else. It really is that simple.
5. Build a relationship based on trust
The last thing you need to understand is that if you want your audience to buy from you, they have to trust you. First of all, you need to invest in your IT security so that they trust you with their sensitive data (credit card info, etc.). You could consider conducting a data audit in order to identify weaknesses in your security that could be exploited in the event of a breach – follow this website link here to learn more about such services that can help bolster preventative measures to avoid this kind of thing from occurring. The next thing you need to do is make sure that they trust you not to scam them. Some e-commerce businesses deliberately use click-bait tactics or display the price of their items without taxes or delivery included (in order to make it appear lower). This is a trick that can work only once, and not even that is guaranteed. Why risk losing a potential regular in order to sell them your product this one time?
Conclusion
Of course, there are numerous other customer retention strategies for you to consider, yet, the above-listed five should definitely serve as a cornerstone of your loyalty-inducing strategy. Trust, reliability and a team you can trust are the only ways for you to organically grow your customer retention rate.
