Finding leads and converting them into new customers is one of the hardest jobs for ecommerce companies.
Chances are your competitors are always studying your strategies, taking notes, and will want to lure your customers away at the first opportunity. Keeping your hard-earned customers will require you go above and beyond the usual tactics.
Customer retention is a challenge every business will face. In the ecommerce market, it’s even more difficult. Customers are constantly looking for the next deal or special offer when shopping online.
Rewarding loyal customers can help you retain their business and ensure they don’t ditch you for a more attractive offer. Read on to discover the steps to creating a successful loyalty program.
What is a loyalty program and what are the steps to create one?
A customer loyalty program is a reward or incentive that keeps customers coming back to your shop. It’s a simple way to thank your customers for continuing to use your services.
For ecommerce businesses, loyalty programs help to keep customers engaged with your company. With so many new trends influencing how people buy products and services, loyalty programs have become a major part of the customer experience.
Customer retention is one of the biggest obstacles facing companies, according to 61% of retailers.
Source: Invesp
How to create a successful loyalty plan
Loyalty programs come in many shapes and forms. You could offer customers gifts, discounts, or reward points and coupons.
Not every loyalty program will work equally well for every business, but understanding your customer’s needs will help you develop a loyalty program that keeps them coming back for more.
Focus on customer service channels.
The quickest way to lose a customer is to provide bad service. Any effective loyalty program will have to look at how your company deals with customer complaints and requests.
This should include providing customer service options on a variety of devices and online platforms. Including a live chat service on your site and responding to issues in a friendly and professional manner will help retain customers.
Ensure you add value.
Every customer is different. Whenever you want to give them a special offer, ensure that it’s something that’ll add value to their experience.
For someone who regularly makes big purchases on your site, free shipping on their next order may suffice. If a customer has used your shop for an extended time, you could offer them early access to an unreleased product.
Share the benefits.
The right loyalty program can be a marketing tool in its own right. Offering referral codes and discounts to loyal customers will spread the word about your company and products.
It’ll also lead to new customers who want to join your loyalty program. As the referral comes from someone they trust, you’re more likely to retain these customers in the future.
How to measure the success of your customer loyalty program
As with so many things, the proof is in the pudding. If you see order values increase and cart abandonment rates decrease, you’ll know you’re on the right track. Conversely, if customers aren’t redeeming rewards, it probably shows they didn’t value them in the first place.
Does it really matter?
Customer engagement and experience will be a major deciding factor in running a successful ecommerce business.
Members of customer loyalty programs also tend to spend between 12% and 18% more at that company. Retaining customers and rewarding them with a loyalty program can increase revenue, retention, and brand awareness.
What now?
Customer loyalty programs are a great way to show your customers you value their business, and implementing one can improve retention and foster better engagement between your company and its customers.
To build a successful loyalty program, you’ll need to provide excellent customer service and add value to the rewards you offer customers.
Since you care about customer loyalty and want to engage your customers, check out this article on elevating your email engagement.