Seven popular customer retention strategies you should adopt for your eCommerce business

The success of a business is always quantified by the number of sales and profit it brings. In other words, it is the oxygen for the company. As a business owner, you have to increase sales and profitability to keep the business alive. However, in a world filled with competition, how will you find a way to do that?

Building an efficient marketing strategy and working on it would ease the situation a bit. What if things don't go your way? In such cases, your previous customers would be your lifesavers. Did you know a 50-70% chance of selling to an existing customer, whereas selling to a new customer only ranges between 5-10%?

That's why you have to implement a customer retention strategy and build brand loyalty programs to cover the loose ends and get a steady income flow for your business. Here are the top 7 proven customer retention strategies that have made fortunes for many companies in the past and present.

7 Proven Customer Retention Strategies

1. Keep an eye on customer service.

If your customer service is outstanding, then people will stay with you for an extended period. The satisfaction of your customers will improve your business and open the gates for lots of opportunities via referrals. Customer service will also assist you in building a relationship with the customers and be an excellent resource for you to understand the flaws of your product. Using their valuable feedback, you can tailor your marketing procedures and business model for better sales. Every time a customer contacts you - you must make the customer feel - how important they're to you?

For instance, if there is a delay in the shipment or any other technical problem - passing information to the customers will strengthen your bond between them. You have to monitor your executive's performances like how they handle the client, their response time, how an executive speaks to the customer, etc.

These factors are important because the customer will note every move of your executives. If they're unhappy, then they will move to your competitors. So, you have to keep your customer service at its best to retain your existing customer.

2. Send Email Campaigns

Email marketing is a most vital tool for customer retention in this digital era. 56% of the eCommerce business are utilising email campaigns to retain their customers. After making a purchase, you will have the customers’ email ids. Using that, share promotional codes, discounts, or redeem points with a deadline as loyalty rewards. The deadline will play a pivotal role in grabbing the customers’ attention and make them purchase more.

3. Create a subscription-based business model

Most of the eCommerce sites fail to make use of the subscription-based business model. They're scared of losing business. But, it's not true. The subscription model can do wonders and will retain customers for a long time. Let's take Amazon as a fine example. They're charging ₹129 per month for Prime membership subscriptions. In return, the users get benefits like free shipping, fast delivery, free movies, free music, etc.

You can pull off a subscription model for your business to hold your customers on the same lines. It can be monthly or yearly based, but it must give your customer an advantage- if not, your subscription model will not be fruitful. To fix a subscription plan, question yourself - "What exceptional benefit can I give my customer to make them subscribe?"

4. That will do the trick!

Give the customer more and valuable information. Once you have done itThe best possible way to retain a customer is by staying connected. You have to communicate with people whenever and wherever possible. Luckily, you can get it done quickly with the help of social media - where people from every part of the country spend their time. Here you can develop effective communication, whether it's a personalised message or a community message. Any latest news about the company or industry, trends, offers, discounts, etc., can be shared to keep them updated.

Remember - Don't be ‘salesy’ while creating content - don your creative hat to provide a valuable piece of info to your customer, as that's what people are looking for. Even if it's a funny story or incident going around your business, you can display them as memes and share them. People will love it and will remember your brand! The best part is - if people find the content interesting or funny, they will share it with their friends and family, which will create brand awareness.

5. Highlight your social responsibilities

Nowadays, people have started to look closely at how the business gives back to the community. This concept has been acknowledged by many business owners today as they have begun to donate to charities, the environment, and other society-driven projects. It can also give a new aspect to your business and make people feel good when associated with such a brand.

6. Give a personalized touch.

Personalised messages would impact the customer. Whether it's a post-sales message or just a simple notification, a personalised touch will go a long way in attracting your customers. Using the customer's data, create content that addresses their pain points or any offer of the product they have been viewing lately. With that, you can improve your email marketing efficiency and group your customer's data according to their persona's.

7. Conduct loyalty rewards programs

We have saved the best for the last. Conducting loyalty rewards programs will enhance sales and boost customer retention. For every customer's purchase - give them loyalty points or rewards like cashback, discounts, and coupon codes. This will make the customers always consider you before purchasing from someone else. One of the most common loyalty program examples is giving free points for every purchase added to your wallet. You can redeem the issues (or part of it) whenever you are making your next purchase. You will not gauge the efficacy of the loyalty programs right away as it takes time to show results.

Conclusion

Implementing customer retention strategies might take a while, but customers cannot ignore your brand once you have done it. All customer loyalty programs will ultimately lead to a steady stream of income. But building a customer loyalty program might not be easy, especially in the initial days of your eCommerce journey. You might need the support of an expert like Powerhouse91 to boost your profits. We have helped hundreds of small and medium eCommerce businesses scale up their business and experience success at the early stages of their growth trajectory. To know more, contact us now.