A loyal customer is one of the best assets your e-commerce store could have. From this point onwards, you just have to replicate the same strategy and get the same results. However, finding the right strategy for turning visitors to your site into repeat customers requires patience and relentless iteration. If you are just starting in the e-commerce space, repeat customers will help you create a self-sustaining business faster than you might have expected. Why? Research shows that returning customers can account for 41% of the revenue of an e-commerce store.

As their purchase frequency increases, repeat customers become more likely to choose you over other suppliers. In other words, customer loyalty has a direct impact on profitability. That is precisely why billion-dollar brands like Amazon are so fanatical about their customer experience. They leverage it to differentiate themselves from the competition and create win-win outcomes.

The one big factor that may give you cold feet while implementing a customer loyalty strategy is the cost. After all, it is not a one-time investment. You may not have the budget to implement sweeping changes across your customer support team, and your appetite for risk may be low in the post-pandemic era. However, a diversified customer loyalty strategy – that considers your short-term and long-term business goals – can provide better returns on investment. For example, you can offer coupons and free shipping to boost repeat sales in the short term, easier to implement. You can eventually introduce a loyalty program where customers can earn points for referring others and qualify for exclusive benefits.

Customer Loyalty Strategies Your E-commerce Business Can Benefit From

Here are a few tried and tested customer loyalty strategies you can consider to grow your e-commerce brand:

Deliver customer delight

Unprofessional agents, multiple transfers between departments, being kept on hold for a long time- these are nightmare scenarios for any e-commerce brand that wants to create customer loyalty. In fact, 72% of customers rated consistent customer service as the biggest reason for being loyal to a brand. That explains why billion-dollar brands like Amazon are so fanatical about their customer service. They put real efforts into understanding why customers have chosen a particular brand over their competitors and strive to exceed those expectations.

If your business’s repeat purchase rate has been dropping, your customer service probably is not up to par. Customers are likely first to complain, then ignore, and eventually look elsewhere if their expectations are not met. Communicating effectively is, therefore, critical to avoid negative reviews and/or abandoned carts. Too many online stores do not educate customers about getting the most out of their products.

Secondly, if your website is not responsive, customers are not likely to wait anymore patiently. According to OctoPerf, 74% of mobile visitors will give up after just 5 sec. These are sure-fire ways to lose customers over a period of time.

Thirdly, your knowledge base must have up-to-date answers to FAQs such as warranty, returns, and other terms of service. This can go a long way in reducing call volumes during peak season and allow your agents to focus on cases that need urgent resolution. Chatbots are another must-have tool for your e-commerce site. They can positively reduce your Customer Effort Score (CES) by auto-completing search queries and providing useful prompts.

Personalize as much as possible:

Through the buyer journey, you need to tailor your communication to the needs of your customers. This can help you create a connection with them, making sales and engagement a natural outcome. There is usually very little to distinguish one e-commerce product apart from the other today. To create top-of-mind recall and even re-engage with past customers, personalization is critical.

For example, segmenting your audience can help you come up with personalized emails, social media, and paid ads and discounts. This will not only boost conversion but also enable you to drive customer loyalty over the long term.

Start a loyalty program

The idea of earning rewards on every purchase can be a powerful motivator for customers to stay with a brand. What’s more, 73% of customers are more likely to recommend brands with good loyalty programs. Relative to the cost, the benefits of a well-designed referral program can be much greater. Once you have come up with your loyalty program’s concept and design, test it for at least 2-4 weeks before making any changes.

This can help you keep the cost of implementation low and see returns faster. Tiered benefits like free shipping and discounts tied to purchase volume and frequency can substantially boost customer loyalty.

Implement feedback quickly

Customers give feedback with the expectation that you will act on it. As soon as your Csat survey results are available, arrange them in the order of relative importance based on your business goals. Perform a thorough root cause analysis to come up with a satisfactory solution to the issue in question. Thank customers for participating in the survey and keep them updated about the steps you are taking to improve your service.

Monitor the post-implementation performance to measure the impact. Acting on customer feedback rapidly can help boost customer confidence in your brand and increase average order value significantly.

Last words

For your e-commerce strategy to pay off, you need to think about short and long-term customer needs. This will help you keep things fresh and relevant while continuing to enhance average order value. The importance of consistent customer support cannot be understated when it comes to building loyalty with customers. If you have been struggling to provide adequate coverage,  professional customer support experts available 24X7 from Helplama can be the solution you’re looking for.

Our agents are trained and certified to your process and brand requirements so that they can function as an integral part of your team. We are refreshingly easy to work with and do not need you to sign a ton of contracts beforehand.

Also, you can try Saufter – the customer service software that can help you automate and scale your customer support.