You’re willing to pay heavily for paid advertising to gain a new customer. You’re more than ready to run a series of promotions to attract first-time buyers. What are you doing to retain your existing customers Did you know that acquiring a new customer costs five times as much as retaining an existing customer? In this regard, it makes sense to retain your current customers while generating new ones.
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How to Successfully Design an E-commerce Website [INFOGRAPHIC]
10 Tips For Increasing Conversions On Your Ecommerce Site
1. Personalize Customer Shopping Experience
A great way to create more personalization for your customer is by saving their past purchases or shopping preferences. This includes items they saved in their wish list, browsed items, search terms, and things related to products they have bought. When existing customers return to your site, you can display personalized welcoming messages. This can make them feel welcomed and develop a connection with your business.
In addition, based on their preferences, you can include any content or valuable packages that may be of interest to your customers. Remember, it’s about personalization that is customized for that specific user’s shopping habits and behaviours. This way, your customers will be happier to know you are going out of your way to help them shop better.
2. Improve Site Performance
A slow loading, badly designed site with bad product description says a lot about your company. It makes visitors feel that you don’t care about their experience and needs.If you’re wondering why your customers are not returning to your site, just do some shopping on your site. Are you frustrated or confused? If you’re having these problems, then your customers are definitely having the same terrible experience as well.
Another great way to analyze your website is by comparing yours to any of your competitors’. When you’re browsing and shopping through their site, what features stand out most to you? What are some things their doing that you’re not? How is the experience on their site better than yours?
3. Keep Content Fresh
Not only is relevant and recent content good for SEO, but it also keeps your customers coming back to you. This helps to let you customers know that you have new things that they should check out. You can get your customers addicted to your site, just for the content. Upload informational infographics, videos, wonderful podcasts, and interviews with industry experts. Keep them hooked and keep them coming!
4. Reward Loyalty
Many customers stay with a company for a long period of time, so why not reward them for their loyalty with special perks? Here are some great options to keep customers coming and attached to your brand:
- Access to special content for loyal customers
- Additional seasonal discounts
- Loyalty coupons and memberships
- Refunds on recommended purchases
5. Stay in Touch
In order to keep your customers coming back, you need to build a relationship with them. When you’re shopping at the mall, you’re often asked to provide an email when you check out with your purchases. This is their way of getting your email and staying in contact with you through email. For eCommerce sites, you can email past customers with weekly newsletters and special offers. Your targeted emails can remind customers of great deals that they might be missing out on.
When you’re designing your email campaigns, keep them attractive, warm, and brief. You don’t want to have too much information on it because you’re trying to get them on your site. Create an email newsletter that sparks their attention and drive them to your website. Also, don’t forget to personalize them with their name and a note from your top brass, so that people know the emails are not automated.
6. Interact Via Social Media
Many brands have maintained relationships through social media successfully. In today’s digital age, social media is used by almost everyone and it’s one of the best way to get direct contact you’re your customers. So, why not leverage social media to maintain a healthy and personal connection with them?
You can even reward anyone who Likes or Follows your company on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to publicly acknowledge your best shoppers via social media and reply to their comments. Your customers are your biggest brand ambassadors. So make them feel special through innovative campaigns and interactions on social media.
7. Keep Product Quality High
Needless to say, your customers won’t return if your product quality is bad. That said, they’ll always check out other stores if your product quality is just ok. Keep your product quality scores really high and your customers will have no choice, but to come back to you. Along with that, keep updating your product suite to keep your customers intrigued.
8. Research Your Target Market
Analyzing your market to see who your prospects are and target market is. It’s important to define their age, industry, location, preferences, and so on. This is because different generations and age group react to messages differently. A message on your website could prompt a conversion for a baby boomer, but maybe not a millennial. If you’re targeting baby boomers, then you’re on the right track. If not, they n you may want to consider analyzing your audience to see how you can customize your site for them. Market to your targeted audience and you’ll find it easier to sustain and retain customers.
9. Get Personal
After the very first purchase, send out an email thanking the customer for their patronage. Don’t forget to drop a discount coupon for the next purchase. This can encourage them to make another purchase in the future. When you’re sending out emails, addressing them in their first name is always important because it makes your emails look less robotic and automated.
Another popular way to be more personable with your customers is by showing the “behind the scenes” of your company. Customers are always curious to know the faces behind a website and company. Try uploading business team photos, videos, and activities in your company that allows customers to get to know you more. It helps to put a face on their favorite brands.
10. Run Promotions Geared Towards Repeat Customers
Everyone loves promotions and sales! For past customers, promotions can trigger an interest to re-visit your website. Your business may be too focused on first-time buyer promotions, so why not divert some of the effort to customer retention. Promote offers such as free shipping, special discounts, and special value packs only for returning customers. Also make sure that your first-timers only promotions are presented only to new customers, as these can upset returning ones.
11. Create a Subtle Registration Process
Oftentimes, visitors are looking to quickly purchase a product and check out. Allow new customers to check out as guests, but at the end of their purchase, ask them if they’d like you to ‘save’ their information.If they say yes, you’ve got them registered without their realization. In their confirmation order, you can also include a message to kindly ask if they’re like to register for an account on your site. When they visit your site again, you’ll be able to welcome them by name. Also, they wouldn’t have to re-enter their information and be able to see their past purchases and browses.
12. Don’t Ignore Complaints
Even the most loyal customer can walk away in disgust if you ignore their complaints. It’s a common thing – people want to be heard. If the complaint is not valid, listen to it. Listen to your customer with respect and try to resolve as much as you can. If you can’t, offer something else to make them feel better.
Having satisfied customers is just as important as retaining past customers that have had a good experience. Even if they've had complaints with your products or services, you can always turn it around! Let me know in the comments below what strategies you use to retain customers.
