Increase repeat customers for more sales

Repeat customers are your ticket to a successful online store. Research has found that returning customers spend more, are easier to convert and often act as brand ambassadors, spreading the word about your business.

Adobe conducted a survey in the US and found that returning customers – who represented just 8% of all site visitors, were responsible for around 41% total online sales.

If you are struggling to retain customers or simply want to increase the numbers that you have, there are a number of ways you can go about it:

Have top-notch customer service

The importance of good customer service in online retail can’t be stressed enough. The fact that people can’t enjoy face-to-face interactions makes it harder for them to feel truly looked after. This means you must go out of your way to create the best customer service possible.

When customers have good experiences in getting their questions answered, they are likely to come back and shop again. A bad experience could well put them off for life and their friends with them.

You can improve your customer service in a number of ways.

Look at how many channels you deliver your customer service across – could you increase this? If you have email and call contacts for service, why not add a social media channel to this also? Customer service through social media means that your customers don’t have to leave their favourite platforms to engage with your team.

Create a friendly and personal experience by introducing your customer service teams to your shoppers. Mention the names of the people manning the phones, emails or the social media page that day. People like to be reminded they are dealing with other humans who will understand their questions and do the best to answer them.

Create a user-friendly, free returns service. It is inevitable that you will have returns, it is the nature of online shopping. If you ensure this process is as painful as possible – even if someone didn’t find exactly what they wanted they are likely to come back.

Reward returning customers

According to a survey by Zendesk 54% of customers said they would consider increasing their shopping with a brand if it offered rewards and loyalty schemes. Everybody like to be valued and showing a customer they are important to you and your brand will create good will and a desire to shop with you again and again.

You could give your loyal customers priority when it comes to shipping out their orders so they get theirs super fast. You could email them with one-off gifts such as vouchers to spend in store, an special offer – even a box of chocolates! Offering discounts based on volume and frequency of purchases is a popular tactic. You could give your loyal customer base the first look at your sale items before they go out to your main site.

The lists are endless but one thing is for certain, customers will appreciate any gesture you make.

Create personalised marketing emails

Customers lead busy lives and don’t always have time to spend browsing online stores. Sometimes they need reminders that you’re there and they need something from you. Sending out marketing emails is a good way to get your customers’ attentions and even better if you can create personalised messages.

Send your customers suggestions of things they might like based on their recent purchases and always let them know if you have something new in stock that you think they’d like. These emails can act as stepping stones for your customers straight over to a purchase they would like. Make it as easy as possible for them to go from the email onto your site and make sure these links and calls to action are clear.