7 Proven Methods To Retain Customers

Today we want to reveal the main secrets on how to retain customers in an online store. How to turn one-time shoppers into the consumers who’re in love with your shop? Let’s dig deeper into the problem that many merchants face when managing their eCommerce business.

According to some surveys in the field of online trading, the majority of enterprises don’t have the knowledge required to retain customers. As a rule, an average user visits a site, makes an order, gets the needed stuff, and just forgets about the store. Why? The answer is obvious: this marketplace did nothing to motivate the buyer to shop again.

Therefore, winning the user’s loyalty is the essential target for every merchant. A satisfied consumer will definitely come back. Most of all, they will tell about your brand to their friend, your potential buyers.

For boosting the company productivity, try to strengthen the connection with existing purchasers. It is considered to be that client acquisition gives worse results than retaining the existing ones. So, the proven customer retaining strategies involve the next recommendations:

It’s not a rarity when a client refuses to acquire the needed item after a poor quality of services provided. So, consider these considerable tips to provide excellent customer service:

• be sure to confirm an order quickly and inform a user about its status timely;
• confirm an order in different ways: email, SMS, call, chat, etc. Always give a choice;
• give feedback as soon as possible;
• stay in touch and never ignore buyers and be sure that each call is answered;
• treat shoppers as each of them is special. You may send an email with thanks and concern whether a user is satisfied with ordered products.

There is one more useful note for online store owners: care about the knowledge of your stuff. It’s a great idea to invest money and time in workers’ education as they are responsible for communicating with needy consumers.

They have to know at least basic sales techniques and general principles of customer service. It comes without saying that they should know enough about manufactured items to inform users.

It must be one of the most obvious methods to retain customers. Let a user know about:

• new arrivals;
• an abandoned shopping cart;
• the price of a output, which a user has added in Wishlist, is reduced;
• the reminder of bonuses, discounts, etc.

Do it mindfully and do not impose. Otherwise, it may draw your regular shoppers away.

Smart marketing tips help merchants to involve clients. Be sure to set a more stable trade relationship between a company and clients. Such program may include:

• club card;
• discount system;
• personal discounts;
• accumulative bonuses (free delivery, discount, gift);
• other pleasant advantages that are available only for regular buyers.

Sometimes it’s useful to do more for users then they expect to get from you. Just surprise them! There some creative ideas which will help you to retain customers better:

• sent a nice gift when a user makes an order for the first time in a marketplace;
• provide free shipping;
• give a discount on the first purchasing or a short review on a sale item.

By any means, it’s impossible to control absolutely everything in an online store. Failures are not an exception, especially in large-sized marketplaces. In rare cases, shoppers may get defective goods or the items that disappoint them.

In such cases, carefully listen to complaints, suggest to return the product and help to select an alternative option. A discount or a special offer would be a great way to calm down and please the disgruntled consumer.

Thus, having got unprecedented customer services and the fair solution for a problem, the client feels satisfied anyway. Moreover, they realize that the company cares about their contentment.

Ask buyers to leave short reviews on the wares they have ordered and general recommendations on improving the services. Create thematic forums and pages on social media where users will be able to leave a feedback, communicate with other shoppers and share their emotions after collaboration with your marketplace.

In addition, following people’s comments, you’ll be able to make your site better. By the way, the next advice is about it.

Although this advice is quite commonplace, it’s still worth noting. The point is that people enjoy eye-catching and aesthetic things. Shopping on beautifully designed sites delivers an unparalleled experience. Also, make your online store well-performing and easy to use. To achieve the listed recommendations, choose a robust CMS that will support large catalog and traffic increasing.

In addition, provide all the data related to the item in a product card. Explaining the different methods of delivery and payment is a plus for your store, too.

Be sure to show actual prices and availability of goods. Believe, wrong data drives users crazy when it comes to ordering.

The last but not least: as the majority of people prefer shopping through a smartphone, consider developing the mobile version of your site.

As you see, keeping clients satisfied is not so complicated. Be polite, respect their rights and deliver excellent customers service. It’s easy if you strive to retain buyers, try to come up with their expectations. Developing and improving your eCommerce business will definitely have an effect. Good luck!