What is customer loyalty?
Loyalty is a feature that encourages customers to come back and continue with their purchases. Research shows that repeaters are spending more money than just individual customers and retention is a priority in growing eCommerce businesses. Loyalty strategies need to be strong enough to get a piece of that pie, according to a study that suggests retail sales in e-commerce will exceed $ 548 billion by 2024.
This publication describes the strategies you can use to increase customer loyalty. We’ll also look at basic principles like customer acquisition and conversion. Now let’s get down to business.
Why is customer loyalty so important?
Here are a few reasons.
- Increase loyalty
- Help promote referral marketing
- Improve ROI
- Increase the average order quantity (AOV)
When it comes to ROI, research shows that depending on the industry, product, and other factors, a 5% increase in customer loyalty can result in a 25% increase in sales or more.
Let’s take a closer look at the five loyalty strategies you can use to grow your eCommerce business.
Why is customer loyalty so important?
Loyalty means that existing customers will continue to buy from your company, but high loyalty also supports the company’s ability to attract and retain new customers. The reputation and value created by loyal customers are a great force in attracting new customers.
While new customer acquisition is a win-win situation, you can get a higher return on investment by nurturing your existing customer base. The cost of your customers coming back to you should be 5 to 25 times less than the cost of acquiring new customers.
Did you know that many companies lose an average of more than 20% of their customers every year due to improper customer loyalty strategies? In the worst case, the percentage is assumed to be around 80%. If your aim is long-term growth and profit, it pays to invest time and money right from the start to improve customer loyalty.
1) Relief for customers:
Companies invest a great deal of time, money, and effort in building their first customer base and are often successful. But the most important thing to get customers is what to do next to keep them for years to come.
Many marketers lose touch with their customers when they make a sale, which can cause your customers to lose interest. Unmanned customers are easy bait for competitors struggling to acquire new customers. The cost of exchanging customers is a small expense for your company! Closing the wear holes inevitably leads to growth and is profitable.
2) Reach inactive customers:
It is well known that acquiring new customers is expensive. But what if the sales of existing customers are already affected? Instead of devoting a lot of resources to attracting new customers, you can target inactive customers.
These customers have shown confidence in your product/service before and you may no longer be interested in them. If you do it right, you can regain your loyalty. From sending exclusive offers to feeling missed and worthwhile, marketers can reach them again.
Interact with them as you gather feedback on why they stopped buying from you. If these customers can reach out again, sales could reach new heights.
3) Work on the reflection of the buyer:
Once the first sale has been completed, it is important not to ignore the customer and at the same time be motivated to acquire new customers. The final sale is the starting point for a healthy relationship with the customer. When customers finally find value in your product and agree to participate, they are still not loyal to you.
You have not yet experienced the product and have not confirmed that everything you promised is true. If you are not with them and make sure they made the right decision, the doubt will persist.
It is important to interact with the buyer and provide more information than was provided prior to purchase. Not only will this allay your fears and gain credibility, but it will also allow you to sell your product to them for years to come.
4) Preserve the integrity of the product:
When we get our customers to sell, we promise them a lot. It is important that you keep doing your best after the sale. Make sure what you say to your customers reflects the real benefits of the product.
Don’t overdo what you are not sure about. Customers value integrity and that is the key to their loyalty. When the design, quality, and reliability of your product/service meet the expectations of the buyer and your marketing, you have a trusted customer by your side who is ready to buy more from you.
5) Treat customer complaints as business opportunities:
Did you know that around 95% of customers who are not satisfied with your product or service do not report a complaint? You just change companies or stop using your solution. And not knowing why is worse than losing a customer!
Finding customer complaints is important as word of mouth is more effective than it sounds. Even if your competitors analyze customer behavior, the complaints you come across on their behalf can be serious.
To create a system that asks regularly what your customers think of your product and adjusts your response in an honest and helpful way. How you react to complaints determines how your customers represent your image in the marketplace. This is important to keep your company going.
6) Customer service is a top priority:
Providing exceptional customer service is paramount to all business excellence, but it is often largely ignored. If the quality of customer service exceeds customer expectations, they are sure to share their experience with others. This organic growth can lead to the acquisition of new customers and strengthen the loyalty of other existing customers.
When a customer makes a complaint or asks a question, respond with a helpful solution to the problem. If the problem raised is causing negligence in the company, honestly apologize instead of paying and get the solution back in the best interests of the customer.
Honesty can go a long way when there is no solution. Hire the best customer service troubleshooters. Inadequate service can put customers in contact with the competition.
7) Keep a communication calendar:
Conveying value to customers is a matter of good communication. Keeping a calendar to plan communications is one of the most efficient strategies for creating customer loyalty. Plans can be divided into pre-sale, sales, and after-sales categories.
From the letter, phone, and email communications to unexpected customers with special offers, it’s important to keep your customers organically involved. Make sure you don’t spam your customers with unsolicited and non-personalized messages.
8) Stimulate customers with a mission:
Loyalty is a strong emotion and the brand plays a very important role in customer loyalty. Sometimes sales tactics and communication systems are not enough to keep your customers happy. Rather, your brand image can inspire your customers to stay loyal to you.
Many companies associate some of their products and revenues with purposes that are important to them. Most consumers are aware of the environmental impact of consumption. It’s a great place for a business if your business can get customers to be altruistic about their purchases.
9) Personalization through social networks:
It can be difficult for a company to appear like a human in the eyes of the customer. This can make customer relationships more difficult if you cannot imagine the face behind the communication platform. Imagine the person behind a product who is prone to error and who can easily tolerate product deviations.
To overcome this challenge, it is important to communicate with your customers on social platforms and to encourage them to interact with you. Speak to customers publicly on social media and encourage them to share their experiences with you. Do not copy the pasted message template. This only makes it look like a robot. Become human and have fun!
10) Surprise and delight customers:
Everyone likes it a little more, especially when it’s free. Surprise your customers with compassionate gifts that aren’t necessarily expensive and can really boost your loyalty points. From handwritten notes to thank you keepsakes, customers can be delighted with a variety of options.
This gesture of not getting in their way, to show care and credibility, should please them. Share your experiences and snippets on social media and encourage them to tag you to increase your brand awareness. You can share the same with your company profile to show your company culture.
11) Collect votes from happy customers:
Most customers trust your brand through word of mouth, not your own ads. Customers believe in other customers who have invested in their product and experienced the service firsthand. This makes social proof a very important aspect of customer loyalty strategies.
Nowadays, it’s no secret that most consumers use online reviews and customer insights to make informed purchases. So spending time collecting customer reviews, posting them on your website, and sharing them on social media will work.
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