ARTICLE
10 Strategies to Get Repeat Sales from eCommerce Customers
Customer acquisition is the main focus of any eCommerce marketing strategy. On average, the eCommerce retailer spends 80% of the marketing budget on customer acquisition. Is it practical to spend that kind of money on customer acquisition? That is debatable.
On average, it costs an online business seven times or more to acquire new customers than it does to retain existing customers. Customer acquisition is not only costly in terms of money but also time. Encouraging existing customers to make repeat purchases is easier and cheaper.
There is a 27% chance that a first-time customer will make a second purchase. A repeat customer is 54% more likely to return for more shopping. Repeat customers are also likely to spend more money on their purchases.
From the statistics above, you can appreciate why the repeat customer is so important. So, how do you keep this type of customer happy? Below are some helpful tips:
Getting Repeat Sales
1. Encourage New Customers to Register Accounts
Allowing guest checkouts is a way to optimize your store’s conversion rate. Allowing visitors to complete purchases without registration is also a way of making the checkout process easier for the customer. About 23% of customers abandon carts when they are forced to register.
It takes time to establish enough trust with a retailer for anyone to leave personal details. If you can manage to persuade a user to register, you can offer better customer experience with faster checkouts and relevant marketing emails.
It makes sense to offer perks for creating an account. You can provide personalized recommendations, exclusive offers, and priority access to sales.
You can offer the customer an opportunity to sign up after checkout.
2. Email Your Customers Regularly
When a customer consents to receive marketing emails, it is wise to take advantage of the opportunity. Marketing emails are one of the most effective ways of driving sales.
Such a customer has proven that they have an interest in your products. Marketing emails provide the right avenue to encourage repeat sales. You must personalize the messages to recommend the right products to a specific customer. Most customers will unsubscribe from email lists when the messages are not relevant to them.
Regular communication through emails also keeps your products and brand in the mind of the customer. It is also an excellent opportunity to showcase new products and offers.
3. Offer Incentives and Loyalty Programs
Incentives can include shopping vouchers and exclusive discount codes with a customer’s first purchase. With an offer like this, the beneficiary will undoubtedly return for a repeat purchase. To add a sense of urgency to your offers, it is crucial that you attach a sort of time limitation. Necessity is proven to increase eCommerce conversion rates.
Emailing discount codes regularly to your customers will reduce unsubscription rates. Your customers will not want to miss out on the discounts, and they will return for repeat sales.
Loyalty programs are also excellent marketing strategies. This move will bring in more customers as well as attract repeat sales. Establish a rewarding point system that allows redemption through discounts.
4. Send Birthday Notes and Gifts
Birth dates are not only useful for identifying your target demographic but also marketing. Make sure that you take note of your customers’ birth dates as they sign up on your website.
Birth dates will help you send personalized birthday notes and gifts. Such a gesture will make your customers feel special. They wi8ll repay your kindness with repeat sales.
5. Offer More: Give a Little Extra
Most eCommerce merchants do not put any thought into the little things like packaging. This is your opportunity to stand out from the crowd. Include something extra in the package to delight and surprise the buyer.
Something as simple as a thank-you note can make all the difference. Little gifts like key chains or a pack of candy can make the unboxing experience memorable. A pleasant surprise is sure to put a smile on the face of the recipient.
6. Use the Power of Retargeting
Abandoned cart emails offer unique opportunities for retargeting. You can send an email to the customer to remind them of their abandoned cart. You can also spice things up by adding an incentive like money off on shipping costs. This strategy has made retailers thousands of dollars from abandoned carts.
You can also use retargeting as an opportunity to cross-sell. For example, you can use the customer’s history to recommend a similar product. This strategy works well for consumable items.
Social media sites offer some of the best platforms for retargeting. A customer that was browsing around your site will get relevant ads on their Facebook and Instagram feeds. Dynamic Product Ads through Facebook have up to three times the effectiveness for 65% less than the cost per conversion.
7. Ask for Feedback
You can significantly improve customer experience and repeat sales by asking for feedback. A simple pop-up with a clickable star rating mechanism makes it easier for you to collect customer feedback. Alternatively, you can run a survey. Surveys are risky because they can easily annoy customers. Be sure to add incentives to make the trouble worth the while of the customer.
The information you extract from feedback forms can give you valuable insight. The data can help you identify the areas that need improvement. The necessary changes can reduce churn and encourage repeat purchases.
8. Serve Your Customers Through Social Media
You want to be accessible to your customers. You ant to respond to their queries and inquiries as fast as possible. Emails, phone lines, and live chats are good options for customer support, but social media adds more convenience.
Responding to your customers effectively will play a role in building trust and encouraging purchases. On average, the cost of responding to a customer’s inquiry on Twitter costs $1. This is a bargain compared to the $6 that it will cost you to accomplish the same task via a traditional phone line.
9. Offer Exclusive Social Media Deals
Create incentives for your customers to follow your social media channels. Exclusive social media deals and perks can help you build a community around your social media page.
Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook are excellent platforms for passing information. You can use these sites to launch new products or announce discount offerings.
10. Start a Blog
You are missing out on a lot of opportunities if you don’t have a blog for your eCommerce site. Content marketing is one of the most effective forms of online marketing. The content market strategy works well in encouraging existing customers to make repeat purchases.
If you can create and curate articles that add value to the lives of your customers, the readers will share your posts through social media. Such activities go a long way in promoting your brand.
Conclusion
Encouraging your customers to return for repeat purchases can work wonders on your bottom line. It is worth it to come up with strategies to target these valuable customers.
Implementing some of the recommendations above can significantly build trust and the relationship between the brand and the consumer. Eventually, this bond will turn a one-time customer into a repeat customer.
[vcv_global_template id=”1973″][vcv_global_template id=”1052″]