There’s nothing more annoying than knowing hundreds of potential customers are visiting your website yet aren’t making purchases. While having online traffic is good, if it’s not leading to sales then that’s a major cause for concern.
Realizing this is happening is the first thing you need to do. Then, you should find out why: are your prices too high? Are your product descriptions not detailed enough? Are you offering the same discounts as competitors? Only by investigating your ecommerce setup will you be able to identify what’s going wrong and source ways of making it right.
After all, retaining existing customers is imperative. According to research by Invesp, it's 5 times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to keep an existing 1. So, what can you do to ensure you retain the customers you have?
Unfortunately, there's no universal solution. The only way to retain your ecommerce clients comes through carefully considering the entire customer lifecycle and identifying areas for improvement. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. Personalize the experience
Everyone has different needs when it comes to shopping online. Therefore, you need to utilize this to your advantage by monitoring how each of your customers spends time online. Once you know this information, personalize the shopping experience to their likes and dislikes.
There are many methods available to do this. Using custom-made marketing software, you can automatically track what your ecommerce clients are interested in as they browse. Say, for example, you run an online sports store and you have a customer browsing your tennis rackets. By adding an automatic ‘interested in tennis rackets’ tag to their specific customer profile, you can then use targeted messages and email marketing techniques to entice them back to your website.
2. Top-class products
One of the more obvious yet effective ways of retaining customers comes through simply having top-quality products available. You need to put yourself in the shoes of your consumer. Ask yourself: What do I look for when I buy goods online?
A detailed product description is 1 thing, as is a selection of positive customer reviews, but what about the imagery you use? Spending money is a big decision for some people so you need to convince them your products are the right choice.
High-quality imagery is imperative since it not only gives customers the opportunity to see the product in much finer detail, but it also helps convince them that you're a trustworthy seller. As the old saying goes—the more effort you put in in the first place, the more you tend to get out.
3. Show your expertise
Relationships make the world go around, and that’s no less true in the world of ecommerce. When you have a good relationship with a customer, you're much more likely to entice them back to your website. But what can you do to build that level of relationship?
As with any good relationship, a strong foundation is built from trust. Therefore, by asking for feedback from your customers, joining in on the conversations they’re having, and proving your knowledge of the market, you will stand out. As a result, like-minded people will resonate with your shared goals and values, and your website/social media profiles will act as a platform for your customers to connect.
The more you show an interest in what your customers are saying, the better you will come across and the more likely it’ll be that a customer will want to buy from you.
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— Keap (@KeapGrowing) December 7, 2019
4. Loyalty schemes
Who doesn’t love being rewarded?
Loyalty schemes can be a great way of giving something back to your existing customers, subtly thanking them for deciding to buy through your website. Whether you provide them with a percentage discount off their total purchase, offer them free shipping, or give them a free gift, reward-based incentives can be a highly effective way of thanking your customers and generating more sales.
5. Great customer service
Last but not least, providing your customers with a fantastic, consistent level of service is probably the best way of retaining their interest and commitment to you.
After all, it’s important to remember that you're providing a service that they are interested in using. Therefore, the more you can take care of them, the more likely they’ll want to carry on taking care of you too. When ecommerce is done right, it can be a win-win situation.
