Time and again, customer retention has proved to be one of the most critical factors responsible for the growth of an e-commerce website. Some of the most successful global brands have policies that might appear strange to you but have resulted in the huge customer base they hold.
Studies have proved that a brand can retain five old customers with the resources invested in acquiring one new customer. Hence, customer retention is feasible. It also accounts for a significant part of the sales of a brand.
But how do you ensure customer retention?
Well, setting up a fascinating loyalty program is one engaging step you can use to reach out to your most loyal customers in a gratifying manner.
So, here we are with a few handy tips to make your target customers obsessed with your loyalty program and kickstart your loyalty scheme with the utmost ease.
Personalize The Customer Experience
As an e-commerce brand, you must build a relationship with your customers. The best way to do so is by personalizing their customer experience. There are several ways by which their experience can be personalized.
It should start with your employees being trained to treat the customers with utmost respect and politeness. Treating your customers with respect and making them feel valued improves your relationship with them. So the next time you survey your brand, your customers shall be more than happy to lend their opinions to you.
You could accomplish this task by addressing your customers via their first names in the text messages or emails you send. You can also use the customer data to know the customers better and let that translate into more relevant emails and SMS.
Focus On Community Building
Building a community for your brand is one of the most innovative and fruitful things you can do. The most important feature of a society should be authenticity. Establishing an authentic community is no child’s play and requires much time to start fruiting.
Start by creating a Facebook page for your brand. It must be noted that this Facebook page represents your brand and its values on a global level. Do not keep posting about your products; use the page for advertising. Instead, choose to post meaningful content aimed at creating awareness among people.
This will let your customers share a sense of belonging with you and connect better. Do not use the cliche methods of engagement baiting. They would only work to bring down your brand’s image. You could even introduce chatbots on your Facebook page.
Bolster Your Social Presence
The importance of marketing cannot be emphasized enough. No matter how great a Facebook page you build for your brand until it has nobody joining it, it would do no good to your brand. Marketing is what brings your brand to light. As a brand, you need to develop a robust strategy that helps advertise your brand and the programs initiated by it.
You could use emails, SMS, MMS, etc., to inform the users about your brand and the programs you’re hosting, your Facebook page, and invite them to join you. If user posts about your brand, make it a point to repost it on your brand’s page. This will make the user feel valued and encourage more customers to promote your brand.
User-generated content has up to a 700% chance of success, and such users are most prone to buying your products.
Create a Tailored Loyalty Program
Analyze your brand and its interaction with its customers. Now use this information to draft a loyalty program for your brand. Make sure your measures are not rigid and can adapt as needed. With time passing, your relationship with your customers keeps changing. Your loyalty program must adapt to the changes and become relevant in such situations.
You must start by identifying your assets that could translate into customer loyalty and optimize them per your brand’s needs. The program you fabricate must work towards creating a cohesive loyalty ecosystem. The end product should be a brand experience that attracts more and more users to you and ensures that your old customers stick to your brand.
Reward Customers Aptly
Those loyal to your brand and repeatedly purchasing from you must be rewarded. This will express your appreciation for them and encourage them to stick by your side in the future. It would help if you started by creating a monthly sales report. Now find out the top 10% of customers who have made the most purchases in the given month. You can reward these customers by giving them discounts, offers, coupons, free merchandise of your brand, etc.
Use your creativity to come up with new ways to reward your customers. You must make a new list monthly and reward the top 10% of your customers. When you create a monthly report, you’ll figure out a pattern. This information can be employed to develop better loyalty programs.
You might sometimes realize that some customers from your top 10% list haven’t shown up. You can send them discounts and attractive offers to bring them back.
Final Take
Is a loyalty program right for your business? Well, it works pretty well for some massive revenue-generating e-commerce platforms.
A loyalty program significantly boosts your business’ customer retention game plan. You can keep your highly valued clients at close range by enhancing your program’s efficiency. As long as you know the proper steps, you can quickly launch and automate the loyalty program. Just choose your rewards, determine your rewards system, choose a referral program software- and you’re good to go.
Are you still confused about how to kickstart your e-commerce loyalty program? Take Wigzo’s free trial today to develop the most effective loyalty program.
