Is your eCommerce business focused on rapid growth? If the answer is yes, then you’ll already understand the importance of customer loyalty.
Attracting new customers is five to twenty-five times more expensive than retaining existing ones. Encouraging existing customers to become repeat purchasers is a smart way to pump up profits.
To do this effectively, your brand needs to increase customer loyalty. Effective customer loyalty strategies keep customers close, committed, and intent on spending.
A key part of this is focusing on the post-purchase experience you offer customers. What happens after they buy from you that would make them want to stay loyal to your brand?
In this blog post, we explore how to increase customer loyalty. Read on to get inspired by thirteen easy-to-implement strategies.
1. Get personal
Building a highly personalised customer experience is powerful way to improve customer loyalty.
Personalisation builds trust by making customers feel like your brand really gets them.
According to Accenture, three in five consumers are more likely to make a purchase when a retailer recommends options for them based on their past purchases or preferences.
2. Reduce buyer’s remorse
After buying something, most people experience some degree of post-purchase anxiety.
Did they get the best deal? Is this really a quality product? Would it have been better to buy elsewhere?
This is known as buyer’s remorse. Left unchecked, buyer’s remorse can reduce the likelihood your customer will buy from you again.
Creating post-purchase campaigns is a smart way to combat buyer’s remorse and build loyalty. These should add value and help customers who have recently purchased.
3. Be helpful
To build customer loyalty, it’s important to avoid consistently going for the hard sell.
Mix it up with valuable content that improves customer experience. This helps build a sense of trust.
Creating product how-to guides is a great way to do this.
For example, if you are a beauty brand, try creating a video tutorial. This could show the customer how to create a smoky-eye look with the eyeshadow they just bought.
Video tutorials could be shared on social or embedded in an email as part of your post-purchase campaign.
4. Say thank you
Showing gratitude is a powerful way to build trust. To use this tactic, simply send a thank you email after every purchase.
This makes buying from you feel more personal. It adds a human element into the customer experience.
5. Create delight
Keep customers content by surprising and delighting them from time to time.
A good way to do this is by sending them a surprise gift or upgrade. You could also try offering them a discount on their birthday.
6. Reward your most valued customers
Offering valued customers exclusive access to sales or first views of product lines makes them feel special.
If a customer feels like they’re getting something that most shoppers don’t have access to, they are more likely to stay loyal.
7. Offer incentives
Demonstrate that you value loyalty by giving customers something back when they show it.
An excellent example of this is the frequent flyer miles market. People will use the same airline over and over to build up their miles and earn free flights.
8. Use gamification
Gamification is another way to increase customer loyalty. Customers are more likely to keep shopping with if they get hooked into the game play of your loyalty scheme.
The way Amazon rewards badges for its top reviews is an example of this.
Or — going back to the frequent flyer example — airlines often offer tiers that unlock bigger benefits and privileges.
9. Automate customer lifecycles
If you’re looking to build customer loyalty, behavioural triggered emails are an ideal tool.
You can use these to deliver tailored messages based on how each customer behaves. This always you to consistently keep in contact in a timely, contextually relevant way.
Consistent relevant contact is powerful way to strengthen your relationship with customers and increase loyalty.
10. Make it easy for them to buy again
It’s human nature to opt for the path of least resistance. For this reason, customers are more likely to buy from you again if doing so is frictionless.
Whether it’s sending a replenishment email or a subscription renewal reminder, make it easy for them to buy from you again. This reduces the chance they’ll stray to a competitor.
11. Ask for feedback
Show customers their opinion is valued by asking for their feedback.
Setting up triggered emails that asking customer for rating and reviews after a purchase is an efficient way of doing this.
When customers feel listened to they are more likely to see your brand in a positive way. Feedback requests are an effective way to build loyalty.
12. Make sure they don’t miss out
Missing out on a sale price by a day can be mega frustrating. It can also create negative brand sentiment and reduce loyalty.
To avoid this, make sure customers don’t miss out. For example, send alerts when sales are about to end, or redemption reminders when discount coupons are about to expire.
13. Collect user generated content
Involving your customers in creating user generated content (UGC) is an innovative way to make them feel invested in your brand.
Invite them to take snaps of their latest purchases. With their permission, feature their content in your marketing.
This approach will make them feel special, play to their ego, and increase their loyalty to your brand.
Made is an example of brand that is using UGC to create loyalty and drive sales. Its customers are invited to show off their creative and artistic living spaces that feature Made products.
Takeaway
Here’s a quick recap of the tactics we’ve covered:
- build a highly personalised customer experience
- enhance the post-purchase journey to reduce buyer’s remorse
- be helpful and avoid always going for the hard sell
- send thank-you emails to show gratitude and build trust
- surprise and delight customer from time to time
- reward your most valuable customers
- offer incentives in return for loyalty
- gamify your loyalty scheme
- automate customer lifecycles
- make it easy for them to buy from you again
- ask for feedback
- make sure they don’t miss out on offers
- collect user-generated content
Now you’re equipped with some key ways to increase customer loyalty, it’s time to start putting these strategies into action.
