All brands want to retain customers for as long as possible, but retention marketing is a complex process that requires meticulous planning, deep knowledge of customers and impeccable execution. Hyper-personalized communication, timely support, personalized rewards, and loyalty programs are some of the hallmarks of a top notch customer retention strategy. Read on to find out how you can kick off your retention marketing in 2024 with five simple tactics.
Customer retention marketing is the science and art of ensuring that your new shoppers keep coming back for more. When they are convinced that you can deliver value to them, a first-time buyer will become a retained customer.
The advantage of retention marketing is that it is more manageable and a whoppingfive timesless expensive than acquiring new customers. But you need robust strategies to keep these customers hooked to your brand, website, online store, or app.
Let’s explore five customer retention strategies
1) Activate customer accounts
A customer’s first experience needs to be seamless to incentivize them to return and repurchase from you.
After their first successful transaction, you must encourage them to create a customer account. You can do this either right after they are done shopping, on the order confirmation page or through follow-up communication – email or SMS.
An account includes the following benefits that enhance customer experience, and customers are more likely to place subsequent orders:
- Saves shoppers a significant amount of time through auto-filled details
- Allows them to swiftly place and check out orders even on their phone
- Gives them the option to bookmark favorite products or use discounts that non-account users do not have access to
Let’s break down the above a bit further.
Customers often abandon purchases at the checkout stage because they just don’t have the time to fill in their address, or they do not have their debit card lying around. Your customer accounts can be useful at this stage, with all their details auto-filled and they can complete their purchase in just a few clicks.
Also, having a customer account that keeps track of everything the shopper has browsed and shows them personalized recommendations will make them feel connected and “heard.” Isn’t that the foundation of all personalization strategies?
2) Transform customer support to customer engagement
When a customer approaches your service desk or live chat tool with issues, use that as an opportunity to not just offer support to them but to engage them deeply with your brand ethos.
Whether they are facing a problem with a product or just need help in setting up their account, assist them at each step so that your issue resolution process itself becomes a benefit to them.
One of the reasons your customers purchase from you again should be that they know they won’t be stuck with non-cooperative customer support if anything goes awry.
Further, if they post their concerns on social media and you assist them through the same medium, you will show your customers that you are present in the same channels that they are. The interaction will be social proof of your support.
Beyond providing customer support during issues, consider showing your customers that you care for them through personalized gestures, such as sending a handwritten note after their first order or giving free samples along with one of their orders.
These tactics differentiate you from your competitors and remind the customer that ordering from you again will be a positive experience.
3) Earn customer loyalty
You can hook your customers to reward programs right from the account creation stage. Give them reward points for creating an account, and on the first purchase. You can also give them more and better incentives for a second or third order.
Nudge them gradually to keep on purchasing from you in exchange for benefits without being too “salesy.” Do not impose a program on them with too many instructions – make it simple for your customers to give you their loyalty!
Using customer data analytics, you can offer personalized loyalty incentives to different kinds of customers. An yearly subscription program might be more appealing than a gamified point system for some and vice versa for others. Diversifying your loyalty program to accommodate these options will help retain customers for longer.
4) Rope customers back in with thoughtful emails
When you meet someone new, isn’t it the sustained conversation on chat between meetings that keeps the sparks alive?
The same may apply to your customers, who need some engagement after their first purchase to understand how you can add value to their experience.
Instances of building your relationship with the customer through emails include sending personalized emails thanking them for their first order, adding recommendations for a second order, or educating them on how to efficiently use what they ordered from you (via short how-to videos).
All these strategies have the customer’s first purchase experience as the foundation.
Depending on a customer’s online behavior, send them emails about exclusive sales. You can also keep track of the product they bought and send your email at a time when they might need that product again.
A DTC brand that does this very well isNua, a hygiene brand. They send out offers and personalized emails around the time of their customer’s period, inviting them to renew their subscription or purchase add-on products such as self-heating patches for period cramps.
Automate your email marketing campaigns using an AI email writer to set up a spaced-out yet effective email schedule.
5) Offer one-time discounts
Setting up a loyalty program or an email marketing campaign is a long-term investment, and it takes time to collect enough data to get these strategies going. In the interim, you can simply offer first-time purchasers a discount for their next purchase.
An example of this isAgoda, a hotel-booking engine. It usually emails a discount coupon as a follow-up to your first hotel booking or after a certain period has passed since your previous booking with them. These coupons come with an expiry date, so customers have limited time to make a profitable purchase from Agoda.
Including an expiry date with this discount code will bring them back faster for a second purchase. You will have obtained a loyal customer when you support this discount method with other customer retention strategies after their second purchase.
How do I go about these strategies?
Some of these strategies require advanced data collection, while others require automation and centralization for maximum returns.
Lifesight’s latest offering will help you master these five customer retention strategies for your business in no time, with minimal effort from your end.
So,sign up for early accessif you want 2024 to be the year your customers keep coming back for more.
