The internet has connected the world and opened a global market where every business can sell, regardless of location. But this also means that the competition is more fierce than ever before. Selling products online can be challenging and it’s often costly to run a campaign in order to attract new clients. Looking at the numbers, we can easily find out that on average, repeat customers generate a big portion of revenue. By using certain marketing tools you can increase the customer retention of your business and boost your sales.
In this article, we’ll look at the top 7 digital marketing tools to drive your customer retention:
Customer accounts
For first-time customers, creating an account can prove to be too much of a nuisance. That’s why it’s often a good idea to leave the account creation process at the very end and allow users to purchase as a guest. Don’t forget to list the pros of creating an account, those can even include – filled-in shipment information or order history.
You can even delay the creation of an account after the order has been fully processed. This allows users to make a conscious choice based on their satisfaction with the service. Once a client has an account, you can send them personalized offers, and regular updates and invite them to participate in any upcoming campaigns.
Run an email campaign
Email marketing is among the most popular tools and for good reason. It gives results and allows you to build an even stronger relationship with your customers. You don’t necessarily have to give clients a special offer. The backbone of a successful email campaign is making the client feel good about their purchase. This can be done with a simple email saying “Thank you for your purchase” and then adding a list of items that other clients also bought.
Run a WhatsApp marketing campaign
If you feel like email marketing is too generic and you’re looking for a more personalised approach, then you really have to check out WhatsApp. The popular social app is a great tool for businesses of all sizes, offering a way to get in touch with clients, send personalised messages, and run campaigns.
The best part is that WhatsApp Business is free, giving small business owners a great tool at their disposal.
Create an SMS marketing campaign
WhatsApp is great and while the app is used by more than 2 billion people worldwide, not all of your clients will have it. That’s where SMS marketing comes in. Nowadays, everyone has a phone and sending an SMS offers the same benefits as the social app, except each of your clients is guaranteed to receive the message.
Customer loyalty program
One great way to incentivise repeat customers is by creating your very own loyalty program. With a loyalty program, you can motivate clients to purchase from your business by offering them rewards. This benefits both sides as customers get something extra with their purchase and your business gets a returning client.
Introduce a referral program
Want to simultaneously attract new users and increase customer retention? A referral program is a perfect solution. With it, your business can reward the already existing clients with various bonuses or discounts and add new customers to your audience.
The best part about the referral program is that marketing is done by your customers. Usually, people would invite their friends so both of them can enjoy the rewards of the referral program.
Offer Discounts
What really motivates a client to make a new purchase? Getting a good deal! Implement discounts for returning customers throughout your marketing campaigns. It’s no secret that people are always looking for a discount before purchasing a product. By offering existing customers a discount to return, you’re giving them an offer that’s simply too good to pass on.
Collect Client Feedback
Feedback is one of the most crucial elements to consider while building a relationship with your clients. The research behind customer motivation is never done and one way to gather more data is through direct input from your clients.
Send out surveys to get feedback on products clients have already purchased or direct them to content that goes into the use cases of the same product. Add ways for clients to rate their satisfaction with your products and don’t be afraid to throw in a list of other items they might be interested in.
Frequently asked questions about customer retention strategy
What are the 3 R’s of customer retention?
The 3 R’s of customer retention stand for “Recency, Frequency, and Monetary” which help businesses of any size gauge and target the most valuable customers.
- Recency refers to how recently a customer has made a purchase
- Frequency measures how often they make purchases
- Monetary indicates the amount spent
What are the four customer retention strategies?
- Customer Onboarding: From a customer’s first interaction with you to their last should be a seamless and engaging experience.
- Personalisation: Tailor your interactions and offerings to individual customer preferences.
- Engagement: Maintain your customers’ interest by regular communication through various channels including email, text and social media
- Loyalty Programs: Incentivise your customers to spend more with rewards, discounts, or exclusive offers
Why is customer retention difficult?
There are many factors that make customer retention a challenge such as their evolving preferences, new competition, and new tools to reach them. However, if you concentrate on maintaining and delivering exceptional value, these hurdles can generally be overcome.
How do you keep customers coming back?
By focusing on providing quality products or services, outstanding customer service, and rewarding your loyal customers with exclusive discounts and offers all help build customer relationships so they want to come back. Additionally, it’s vital to listen to feedback, good and bad, so you adapt and evolve to continuously meet their needs.
Wrapping it up
Increasing customer retention is crucial for the long-term health of any business. The marketing tools we’ve mentioned above can be a great start in incentivising clients to return for another purchase. These strategies will often take time to yield results so make sure you give them at least a few months. Focus on improving your overall user experience, customer service and retention will surely follow.
About Magic
Magic helps local businesses grow. Thousands of local businesses use Magic to get more online reviews, win new customers, easily manage customer conversations and grow sales. Magic offers these features:
- Reviews: Get more reviews with automatic review requests for popular review sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, TrustPilot, and more. Rank high on local search and enhance your visibility on Google.
- Inbox: Keep track of customer conversations across channels in one inbox, including SMS, Facebook, Instagram, and Gmail. Manage conversations better as a team and do more with industry specific templates.
- Text Marketing: Drive more sales with instant text campaigns and reach your customers at the right moment with automation. Use prebuilt templates to send out text campaigns in minutes.
- Webchat: Turn website visitors into customers with SMS powered Webchat. Chat to website visitors directly through SMS so you won’t miss a lead, even when they leave your website.
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