It’s well known that attracting new customers costs much more than retaining existing ones, so understanding how to do the latter is important for any business.
Of course, having a great product and competitive pricing are fundamentals to keeping online customers, but there are customer experience areas that can be improved to help retention rates:
Keep customers informed
Keep your customers up-to-date with their order throughout the entire order process. A confirmation email, dispatch notice and an accurate delivery day/time are all important.
If there’s an issue with their order, whether an item is out of stock or delayed, let the customer be the first to know. Taking responsibility is better than hoping the customer doesn’t notice; customers appreciate honesty.
Should a mistake happen, correct it promptly and in the right manner. A small gift or discount on their next order might help the situation.
Reward your customers
You shouldn’t just be giving discounts out when you’re trying to rectify a negative situation. If a customer has used your service for a number of years, let them know how valued they are. It can be frustrating for loyal customers if a first-time buyer is getting an equal or better offer than them.
Loyalty programmes can help in the long term but the rewards should be unique and personal to every shopper.
Personalise
When your customers are on the other side of the country to you, or even in a different country entirely, it can be difficult to offer a personalised service that makes them want to come back.
Take every opportunity to offer as personalised a service as you can. This can be done with communications such as birthday/event email marketing. With an online business it’s easier to build up a customer database. This database can give you a range of information including birthday dates from which you can send a timely gift.
For marketing advice specific to your business, get in touch and speak with a marketing specialist on 01858 374 170 or email info@idealmarketingcompany.com
