Retaining your customers is possibly the most important part of running a business.
Why? Well, that’s because customer retention is cheaper, more profitable, and in a lot of ways easier than acquiring new customers. But there’s more to it than that.
Sure, happy customers are return customers, but they also tell their family and friends about you. Word of mouth advertising drives more sales than paid advertising – up to five times more.
And, you don’t want to be that flash-in-the-pan startup. You want to start a real business that has longevity, right? That’s why you need the real, organic growth that comes from customer retention.
So here’s some tips that’ll help you to keep your customers happy, and make sure that it’s your store that they come back to.
Set realistic expectations
This is so important. Your customers need to know what to expect from start to finish if you want to retain them.
Think about things like shipping times, for example. Most online stores can’t compete with Amazon when it comes to shipping times. But, what you can do instead is work hard to keep your customers informed.
Suppose you have a customer who orders something and then has to wait a few weeks for it to show up. This can go one of two ways:
They have no idea how long shipping will take, and they become increasingly more annoyed every day that their package doesn’t arrive.
Or…
They knew from the beginning that it would take a little while, so the two-week wait is in line with their expectations, so it’s really no problem at all.
If you’re looking to retain your customers, the second scenario is far better. And there are lots of ways to set expectations for your customers.
You can have transparent shipping information on your website. You can send emails to customers telling them that their order was received; that their order was processed; and that their item has shipped.
Think about it – when was the last time you heard somebody say: “I just have too much information about my delivery status”.
Create a loyalty program
Loyalty programs are perfect for increasing customer retention – you’re giving people a very clear reason to come back and shop with you.
Once your customers opt into your loyalty program, make them feel special by hooking them up with offers: Give them a sneak peek at new products, and offer exclusive deals. This royal treatment will help your customers to feel valued, and is the crux of a customer retention strategy.
You can even give someone loyalty program-esque benefits before they have opted in. For example, you can offer each buyer a discount code inside of their order confirmation email.
Don’t make them sign up for anything – just get them the discount straightaway.
If you offer your customers value without any cloaked agendas after they’ve made a purchase, it’ll go a long way to improve customer loyalty and retention.
Listen to questions and complaints
The reality is: customer retention depends on customer satisfaction.
And customer satisfaction hinges on you listening to questions and complaints from your customers.
For example, if someone asks a question that you thought was obvious, that’s your clue that maybe it isn’t actually so obvious. Or, if they ask a question that you already explained, then maybe you didn’t explain it clearly enough or loudly enough.
Make customers feel comfortable enough to ask questions. The more comfortable they feel, the higher your customer retention will be.
So listen to those questions and remember that if one person is asking it, others might be as well thinking it too.
It’s like they say – feedback is a gift.
Use email to retain customers
Each email you send can aid customer retention — even when you’re sending emails that aren’t really about retaining customers.
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The order confirmation, the shipment-sent confirmation, the follow-up thank you. All of it can help.
These are great opportunities that you can use to set expectations, engage customers, and increase your customer retention rate.
And once you compile a small list of emails, don’t forget to use segmentation to categorize your customers. You could create segments based on the specific products that customers purchased, how much they spent, the discount codes they used, and so on.
That means your emails will have a higher chance of helping you hit your goals, and if they’re done right you’ll be able to improve customer loyalty and retention.
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Be honest
It’s as simple as that.
It might sound a little vague at first, but there are a lot of people out there who have been burned by businesses before.
Whether that be through faulty products, confusing returns policies, unknown charges, or something else, people are quick to lose trust nowadays.
So make sure that you provide your customers with an honest experience when they’re shopping from you.
Offer fair prices for your products and for your shipping rates. Be clear with which shipping company you’re going to use and remember to add your tracking numbers.
Don’t try to bump your prices too high initially. Nothing will make your customers skeptical more than an unwarranted high price tag.
All in all, try to treat your customers how you want to be treated – this is one of the best ways to improve customer retention rates for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
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Hope it helps online businesses. Take your time and understand one by one above...you never know which one is most helpful for your online business.
Shehzad Qureshi
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