When it comes to optimizing our sites, we often think in terms of optimizing our site to acquire new customers. However, customer acquisition isn’t the only thing we should focus on. As business owners, we should also keep in mind the customers we already have.
What is customer retention?
Customer retention refers to the strategies and efforts we make to retain our existing customers and encourage them to continue shopping with us. Customer retention strategies aim to create strong, ongoing relationships with our customers to encourage customer loyalty. By continuing to satisfy and meet the expectations of our existing customer base, we can reduce the number of customers who, over time, stop doing business with us.
Why is customer retention important?
Customer retention efforts can directly determine how long a customer continues to turn to our businesses for the products and services they desire. One factor that makes customer retention important is that existing customers purchase more often. Existing customers who are happy with your customer experience are also more likely to buy new or premium products and services from you because they trust your brand. The most valuable aspect of successful customer retention strategies beyond higher ROI is that loyal customers may also encourage the people they know to consider your business as well. Overall, customer retention has valuable long-term benefits for your business.
Is Customer Retention more important than Customer Acquisition?
When it comes to comparing the value of customer acquisition and customer retention, it’s important to keep in mind that your business strategies should consider both of these objectives. No matter how great your customer retention strategy is, customers do come and go. You will always want to continue bringing new customers onboard. However, just acquiring customers without any follow-up can lead to short customer lifetimes. Through customer retention strategies, we can work to make our relationships with our customers longer, improving both our conversions and our overall reputation. Balancing both of these objectives is key to long-term success and business growth.
How can I retain Customers?
Ensure excellent customer service
Having exceptional customer service is important when it comes to customer retention. When customers feel valued and well taken care of, they are more likely to remain loyal to your business and brand. One way to make sure that you are providing good customer service is to support multiple methods of contact when it comes to helping customers. On your contact page, make sure there are a handful of options to reach out, such as email, phone, physical address, live chat, and so forth. Making sure users can reach out to your business easily and receive prompt support helps create satisfied customers.
Create seamless shopping experiences
From browsing your offerings to purchase, the experience of buying from your business should be smooth and intuitive. After all, we want users to think of our websites and remember good memories rather than frustrations. Optimizing our websites is a large, continuous process, but a few notable areas we should work on are device compatibility, load times, navigation, and streamlined checkout. The less friction users run into when using your site, the better they will remember their experience.
Stay engaged on social media & email
It can be easy for customers to buy your products and services once and be left with little connection to your business and brand. In order to prevent a customer relationship from dying before it can even grow, we need to take the initiative and talk to our customers. We can send emails to them to check in on them, share offers and deals, and create personalized shopping experiences. We can also connect with them on social media and directly talk with them through posts and comments. By having an active presence in their lives, customers will be more likely to remember you when they are looking for your products and services again.
Provide post order follow-ups
Just got a new customer? One way we can encourage a growing relationship with a customer is to simply reach out to them after their order. This could simply be an email that thanks the customer for their order and checks if they are satisfied with their purchase. We can also do things like assistance, ask for reviews, or provide resources related to the item they purchased. Reaching out to customers in this manner demonstrates your commitment to quality customer experiences and builds trust.
Implement proactive re-engagement strategies
Just as it’s important to keep existing customer engaged, we should note customers who, despite our efforts, are absent. While identifying these customers will vary per business, if we notice a customer that hasn’t connected with us in a while, sending a targeted email to them can help re-kindle our relationship. These emails could contain offers, exclusive discounts, and personalized content based on their previous purchases with you. By reminding them of what you have to offer, you can remind them of your value and encourage them to continue a relationship with your business.
Take Action and Transform Your eCommerce Business
To retain customers, we need to create quality user experiences. Read our blog or listen in to our podcast for more tips and guides on making your business the best it can be! If you want more hands-on guidance for improving your website, join the waitlist for Carrie Saunders’ upcoming course, “The Converting Website.” In this course, she will dive into a variety of important factors that aim to optimize your website.
