Online shoppers have more options today than ever. To retain your customers and make them buy from you regularly, you must create an unparalleled customer experience.
67% of customers stop buying from a brand after a bad customer service experience. However, 72% would tell more people about your brand if they received a good customer experience.
Keep Your Customers Happy
Customers that are happy and satisfied with their sales experience are 87% more likely to buy upgrades or new services. To retain customers, you must be able to provide an unparalleled customer service experience.
Research states that even a 5% increase in customer retention can grow profits by 25% to 95%. Some tips for ecommerce stores to retain their existing customers –
- Offer loyalty points to your customers post-purchase. These loyalty points can be redeemed later for discounts or other benefits.
- Create a referral program that rewards both your existing customers and their referrals.
- Include freebies with products, such as keychains, wristbands, pens, or mugs with your brand logo on them.
- If feasible, send a ‘Thank You’ email or a handwritten ‘Thank You’ greeting card.
- Use QR codes on product packaging to collect reviews and offer loyalty points or rewards in exchange.
Element of Surprise
Who doesn’t love surprises?
Especially when they save you money.
Online shoppers love good surprises. So instead of being upfront about all the details, try introducing some extra discount or free shipping during checkout. Such pleasant surprises catch the buyers off guard and make them come shop with you again.
Similarly, do not spam them with the same generic emails in case of cart abandonment. Instead, offer them some perks or extra loyalty points if they complete their purchase.
But remember to use the element of surprise wisely in your ecommerce store. Do not hit them with extra cost during checkout or offer only slow delivery options on the checkout page. 48% of online buyers abandon carts due to extra costs.
Customer-Focused Content Strategy
The goal of content marketing for ecommerce stores is to provide answers to all your buyers’ queries, doubts, and problems. Therefore, you must create content with users in mind and how it can help them.
According to Semrush, 91% of ecommerce brands get benefitted from content marketing. Another survey states that the content format to get the best results was video, closely followed by blog posts and success stories. You can also leverage other content types, like product manuals, case studies, infographics, etc.
Try to provide the best user experience with your content, and you will have a community of raving fans.
Shoppable Videos
Video is the best format to get results for an e-commerce brand. They provide a much better user experience by showcasing not just the product but also its uses. Videos are also great for increasing dwell time on the website and engagement.
Live Shoppable Videos (live streaming)
Live shopping is getting popular. In 2022, ecommerce sales using livestream were estimated at 17 billion dollars in the US. And they are expected to rise to 55 billion dollars by 2026.
You can use live shoppable videos to –
- Engage with your customers
- Satisfy users’ general queries in real-time
- Build better relationships with your customers
- Introduce new offers, discounts, and social media challenges
- Humanize your brand by making it relatable to the people
Non-Live Shoppable Videos
Non-live shoppable videos are pre-recorded interactive videos. They provide a much better user experience by allowing users to click on interactive hotspots and purchase a product without leaving the page.
It reduces the number of clicks in a buyer’s journey.
Build Your Tribe
A tribe or community is a group of loyal fans that act as your brand advocates. They care about your products and love to promote them in their circle. A community is, however, not built overnight. You have to engage with your customers through emails and social media constantly. You must listen to them and try to align your brand actions with what your loyal fans want.
Leverage Social Media
Almost every ecommerce business needs a social media presence to create brand awareness using one’s distinct brand voice. According to LinkedIn, the social media coordinator role has seen the third-highest yearly growth rate among all marketing positions. Similarly, job posts for social media managers were the third highest in 2022.
Even if you can’t hire a social media manager or coordinator, you must dedicate some time to social media. Respond to queries related to your ecommerce brand and check reviews from your customers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Omnichannel Customer Satisfaction
An omnichannel strategy is the need of the hour, considering Gen Z and Generation Alpha are entering the ecommerce landscape. Omnichannel presence also increases your reach and improves conversions.
Online shopping behavior has changed over the years. 99.9% of Shoppers tend to check reviews. Consumers try to find as much detail about a brand as possible using different channels. One such example is Gen Z using TikTok as their preferred search channel instead of Google.
Enhance the experience on your website and social media by incorporating live chat and widgets that can respond to user queries in real-time. You can also use social media to make announcements for product launches, new vacancies, etc.
Personalization
More brands are competing today than ever to provide a seamless consumer experience. Personalizing customer experience must be your go-to strategy to stand out from the rest. However, personalization doesn’t mean sending personalized emails anymore.
You must track consumer behavior and record their preferences. You can ask consumers to share their data with you for a better shopping experience and product recommendations. 83% of online shoppers are ready to share their data for a personalized experience.
You can send personalized offers and product recommendations based on the data provided by users, such as browsing history, purchases, and location. 91% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that remember their preferences and recommend products based on that.
