Brand loyalty is a tricky thing. Most companies think that all you need is a good product or service and you are golden! The world is your oyster! Wrong!
Ok, maybe that was the mindset 50 years ago. Fast forward to the present and you will see that loyalty isn’t as easy to obtain as it once was. The problem? The internet has increased competition and the consumer is price savvier than ever. So, as an eCommerce business what can do you do to build and preserve your brand loyalty?
Follow us for the answers…
Brand loyalty is not to be taken lightly, it is the key to reducing consumer churn. Let’s look at a common eCommerce problem; You’ve had a successful launch, got your online store in order, set up weekly emails and yet you see after just one purchase your customers are disappearing. Or worse still, you see consumers running away and abandoning their shopping carts…ARGH….
Sorry to tell you this, but the problem lays with you. You’ve failed to create an environment that builds brand loyalty.
Time to build some key processes in your business that will help you retain more customers, inspire new customers, and overall boost your ROI. Time to build brand loyalty.
Here are three things you should focus on:
- Cart Abandonment and Email Personalization
- Feedback Loops
- Loyalty program
1. Personalize emails and set up cart abandonment emails
Targeting the specific customers that have started shopping, added some products to their carts, and left is an easy process. You have to have an automatic cart abandonment email in place that shows the customer a picture of the product they left behind and displays a few other related products.
But what about the other customers that just haven’t shopped in a while?
For that, you need to do some good old email segmentation. There are a ton of ways to segment your email list.
Divide your list into a few categories: customers that have bought in the last 6 months, 6-12 months, and customers that haven’t purchased in a year. Depending on your product, you can email customers your most recent product updates or new releases and you can send them recommended and related products.
For example, a person bought a certain perfume bottle that you know on average takes 6 months to use up. So in 6 months, you can send them an email with a few more similar perfumes, or a special discounted refill offer.
Make your customers feel special, pamper them, and invite them back to shop on your site.
2. Feedback loops
This is another great way to engage your customers. Send out an email asking for feedback. It can be about the product in general, new features you just released, etc.
You can target inactive customers with: “we haven’t heard from you in awhile, just wanted to get your feedback”. And your active customers with: “thank you so much for being our loyal customer! Wanted to see how you’re enjoying our shop so far, answer this short survey and get $10 off your next purchase”.
If you offer a discount you will not only get valuable feedback about your product but a few sales as well.
3. Set up a loyalty program
This is by far the most powerful tool in any e-commerce store’s arsenal. Building a loyalty program rewards your active customers, and makes them VIP! Word of mouth is still the most effective form of marketing, and a good loyalty program makes your top customers refer their friends even more.
Gamification or getting points for your purchases and referrals is a huge plus in a referral program. This is what Starbucks does in their awesome program. Each time your purchase a drink you get points, and when you get to a certain amount of points you get to unlock new levels and get new rewards.
Recap
These three strategies are super effective ways to keep your customers satisfied, and to welcome inactive ones back to the site.
Setting up a referral program, sending out personalized emails, segmenting your list, and asking for feedback will help you boost sales and build a better brand for your business.
