How Can Online Retail Stores Gain Repeat Customers?

Getting someone to purchase a product from an online retail store can be tricky enough, never mind getting them to come back and buy again. However, for many online retailers, repeat customers are the most valuable customers and so they should be treated in the best possible way. Many retailers make the mistake of focusing their efforts on obtaining new customers but this shouldn’t be the focus. Yes, getting new customers can be great but you will benefit more if they return.

In this guide, we are going to look at some of the ways that online retail stores can gain repeat customers. This will cover everything from getting personal with customers to rewarding them for their loyalty. Read on to hear some of our tips and tricks.

Give Them A Big Welcome

When a customer first signs up to a website or purchases a product, they usually get a welcome email to let them know that it has been successful. Brands that don’t have effective welcome emails could potentially miss out on getting those same customers to return to the site in the future. Customers like to feel as though their purchase has been appreciated and a well-designed welcome email can help with that. The good news is that it is possible to find welcome email templates online that make this a bit easier. These templates are proven to be very effective in encouraging repeat customers to purchase.

Provide Excellent Customer Service

If a brand or online retailer doesn’t offer a good level of customer service should something go wrong, it can have a negative knock-on effect. Not only can poor customer service result in customers going elsewhere in the future but it can spread by word of mouth and this can damage the brand name. Customer service is much easier to provide than many think, especially with live chat tools and other great features that you can add to your website. If a customer experiences an issue and the customer service is great, they are much more likely to become a repeat customer.

Create Offers To Bring Them Back

Sometimes, customers who are simply happy with a product will return back to the site to buy another of the same product or to try something new. In other cases, customers will need some kind of encouragement to head back to the site. In this case, offers are usually the best solution as they can provide a great reason for the customer to check out what a retailer has on sale. Offers can come in many forms and don’t always have to be large discounts. Simple offers such as free delivery or even a free gift with a purchase can be all a brand needs to gain repeat customers. The better the offer, the more likely the customer is going to return to the site and make a purchase.

Reward Their Loyalty

If a customer is loyal to an online retail store, they will want to feel appreciated for it. For this reason, many online retail stores have created loyalty schemes and clubs that customers can join and benefit from. Loyalty schemes usually come with rewards such as exclusive discounts, sneak peeks and more. Some have tiers based on the customer’s time with the brand and others just have a blanket approach. If customer loyalty schemes are created, they are much more likely to become repeat and even loyal customers.

Work On Your Email Marketing

Many brands make the mistake of only sending out a welcome email or a confirmation email when an order has been placed. If a customer is not reminded about the brand via email marketing regularly, they could go elsewhere. Online retailers need to make sure that they are consistently sending out marketing emails to let their previous customers know that they are still around. Email marketing is much easier with the help of marketing services so this is something that should be considered.

Get Personal

In order to gain repeat customers, online retail stores must make sure that they are offering a personalised experience. Customers who simply receive emails that are clearly sent to everyone on the mailing list aren’t always going to feel enticed to return. However, if the email has their name in it and mentions some of the products that they have looked at before on the site, it can really make a big difference. Personalisation is key in 2020 and so online retailers really need to consider how they are approaching this.

Remarketing

Finally, targeted remarketing can be a really effective way to gain repeat customers. Remarketing ads can be found in many places but are often most effective on social media. If a customer has placed an item in their wish list, these products can be shown to them in ads on their social media newsfeeds. This is very effective when it comes to gaining repeat customers as they will be reminded of what they liked before. Not all customers will make a purchase right away and so this kind of remarketing can be very effective. There are plenty of guides to help with remarketing online that are useful for those who aren’t familiar with this kind of strategy.

Final Verdict

For a brand to really get customers to come back to their site and make another purchase, there needs to be careful planning and strategies in place. It needs to start off well with a great welcome email and if a loyalty scheme is possible, this is something that should also be considered. Online retailers can benefit from getting previous customers to return as they have already shown interest in the brand.

If you are an online retailer, make sure to try out some of the ideas that we have discussed in this article. Over time, you will be able to figure out what works for your brand and what doesn’t!