Mastering Customer Loyalty: Strategies for Turning One-Time Buyers into Lifelong Customers

Ready to turn one-time buyers into lifelong customers? Buckle up for an engaging exploration into the art of customer loyalty! We'll share innovative strategies to transform your customer interactions into a delightful journey that paves the way for repeat business. Dive into the power of tools like live chat, personalized email communication, and targeted social media engagement, all aimed at creating a seamless and exceptional experience. You'll discover the secret behind successful customer loyalty programs and personalized offers that will make your customers feel special and appreciated.

Now, imagine harnessing the power of automation to create lasting relationships with your customers. We will guide you through this process, revealing the impact of small yet thoughtful gestures - think surprise gifts - that can make a world of difference. We'll also discuss the importance of an easy-to-use feedback system that not only enables you to improve your products and services but also makes the customer feel heard and valued. So, join us as we navigate the world of customer loyalty and customer feedback, proving that transforming single-time customers into permanent fans is not only possible but critical for business success! Let’s embark on this journey of creating a customer base that sticks by your side for the long run.

Mentioned Resources: 

Creating Compelling User Experiences

• Website Testing – The Essential Guide to Effective Website Testing
• Mobile Experiences – How to Optimize your eCommerce Site for Mobile
• Creating Customers – Boosting Conversions: Turning Site Visitors into Paying Customers

Engaging content

• Blogs – Unlocking eCommerce Success: Harness the Power of Blogging
• List Builder’s Society* –  Amy Porterfield is well renowned for her list building skills and teaches in a very conscience and efficient way. I felt LBS gave us the edge to put into action some of what we already knew, and some new ideas when it comes to creating and using your email list. We highly recommend this program whether you are new to email marketing or a veteran wanting to up your game!

*This link contains an affiliate link. If you make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you and many times an extended free trial.

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Chapters

• 0:01 Creating Repeat Customers
• 12:35 Customer Communication and Feedback Strategies

Transcript

Carrie: 0:01

Difficult customer conversion rates for new customers is in the 1-5% range and generally it will fall in the 2-3% range. For most industries, however, returning customer conversion rates are much higher than that, sometimes as high as 75%. Today, we're going to be exploring how you can take advantage of this high return customer conversion rate and how to turn your customers into loyal fans. Welcome to the eCommerce Made Easy podcast. I'm your host, kiri Saunders. When we started this business, all I had was a couch, a laptop and a 9-month old. My main goal To help others. Now, with over 20 years in the eCommerce building industry and even more than that in web development, i have seen a lot. I love breaking down the hard tech and to easily understandable bits to help others be successful in their online business. Whether you're a seasoned eCommerce veteran or just starting out, you've come to the right place. So sit back, relax and let's dive into the world of eCommerce together.

Carrie: 1:00

Welcome back to this week's episode of eCommerce Made Easy. Today, we're diving into the world of repeat customers how to create them and how to keep them. I would be referring to several episodes, as this one ties a lot of them together, to show you how all the pieces fit to help provide exceptional customer experiences. As mentioned in the intro, repeat customer conversion rates can be as high as 75%. So how do you encourage repeat buying from your customers? Well, the first way, and probably the most obvious way, is providing exceptional customer service. This can be done before purchase, during purchase as well as after purchase. Offering prompt, personalized and helpful customer support through various channels can greatly increase having customers turn into a repeat customer. Offering features like a live chat, great email communication, as well as engaging on social media, can really build customer loyalty. Making sure you address customer concerns and issues promptly will really help build that trust. What are some brands that you shop with that provide exceptional customer service? What stands out for you with them? What could you do to ensure that you're bringing a similar experience to your customers? So really think about those points there.

Carrie: 2:15

Another way to create customer loyalty is via offering a seamless user experience when they're on your website. You want to make sure that your website is user-friendly, easy to navigate and optimized for devices of many different sizes and types, and if you haven't already listened to episodes 8, 10, and 11, be sure to check those out. As we dive deeper into these subjects, we will link to these episodes in the show notes to make it easier for you to find, as we go into quite a bit of detail in those three episodes, something you might not think about. But providing personalized customer experience is another great way to create raving fans. When your customer feels like they are understood and valued, they will see you in a new light. Sending targeted emails based upon what they previously purchased, what types of products they've clicked on and are interested in, really helps bring this all together. And you can do this in a very well done way and not a creepy way too, because I would have had some brands that do this kind of in a creepy way, but really, if you're doing it in a thoughtful way, it really makes you feel like they're paying attention to you. So you can create also personalized offers or discounts as well, based upon their previous purchases or maybe what they've clicked on, and this really just helps create a sense of individual attention and helps them not feel like just a number and more like someone your business really cares about. Something else you can do is offer a customer loyalty program. They are a great way to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Carrie: 3:48

I created the first reward point system for a shopping cart we worked with way back in 2003, when I actually still program full time But the idea was simple Each purchase, customers earned reward points and then they could use those reward points on future purchases to get a discount. What we found with our clients and with ourselves too, because we use the software as well was a great increase in repeat customer buying. We also saw much larger orders as well. There are currently a few brands that I shop from that offer something similar to reward point system. I find that I want to shop more at these brands and support them, even if their prices are slightly higher than some resellers that sell their items as well, because I feel much more important to them and much more. It just really kind of makes me more loyal to them because they're wanting to give back to me.

Carrie: 4:46

Our local pet store actually does this as well, so even if you have a brick and mortar store as well as your online store, you can still do this With this particular local pet store. Whenever you buy your 11th cat or dog food depending on which one they're tracking and they actually will track both of you have both kinds of animals you get the 11th bag free. So not only do I want to support this shop because it's local, i want to support them too because they have a loyalty program and want to reward us locals for coming in and shopping. So I basically get about a 10% discount for every bag I purchase because the 11th bag is free. So it's talking, you know, talk about a way that you really want to fill up that punch card to get that 11th bag free, right? So it's just a great way to really reward and help your customers out. So what could you do along these lines to boost your sales? What sort of loyalty system could you implement or use?

Carrie: 5:48

Engaging with your customers on social media is also important for getting loyal fans. No one wants you to just post and forget it. When people comment or respond to your social posts, be sure to interact with them. Keep it genuine and very friendly. If you have an active social account, i would recommend you checking it about once a day if it's pretty active. Otherwise, you could probably go every other day or so and you can even set up notifications so you just know when to go check it. But you want to make sure that you're commenting back whenever you need to and also replying back to direct messages, etc. This will help them feel seen and heard. So making sure that you are active on the social accounts that you are using is very important.

Carrie: 6:31

Another thing you can do is to make sure to encourage and showcase your customer views and testimonials. You can even tie this into the loyalty system we talked about earlier, where you can give them extra loyalty points for filling out a review or testimonial A way to give something back to them for the time that they took out to do this for you, because it's a very nice gesture on their part. So giving back to them for doing that nice gesture is also great. So it's just a simple little tidbit that we can add into the above points. Here We also find with a lot of businesses, when they offer regular and relevant content, such as blogs, podcasts or videos, they create loyal fans. When you're giving back your time and knowledge to others, they see that and they want to support you. It also helps them feel valued and heard when you provide content or discuss topics they are interested in. In episode 9, we go into blogging and how you can use it to propel your business forward, so be sure to check that out to learn more on how you can utilize this tool, because we go into quite a few points in there, as well as ideas on what you can blog about and really how often too. So be sure to check out episode 9 if you haven't yet.

Carrie: 7:44

A lot of what really helps a business stand out, too, is their post purchase communication. No one likes to order on a website and then feel forgotten because they completed the sale and okay, we're done with you now because we completed the sale. You want to be able to feel seen and heard, even post the sale. So when was the last time you got an email or text? a few days or so or a week after your purchase was made, to make sure you loved it, to see if they had any problems. So if you have gotten one of these, i bet you feel valued more than if you didn't get any email or communication afterwards. You can simply send a thank you text or email, if you're allowed to have their text phone number, of course, and you can ask for feedback and offer assistance or resources if they need help. It really demonstrates your commitment to them and their satisfaction of your product or service and just really making sure they are happy with what they have. It really goes a long, long way.

Carrie: 8:44

What else could you do to go the extra mile? What about unexpected gestures? It could be a small gift, a handwritten note or a personal offer on their birthday or anniversary, and you wouldn't have to do this to every single customer. You could try to figure out how this works in your business model so that's not onerous on you, but these small gestures can really propel your business forward. You can even simply just send them a birthday or anniversary email or text if you have the permission to email or text them. It wouldn't even have to include an offer. Just that you're thinking about them really really goes a long way here. Really think about what you could do here that could be easy for you to implement but also provide a big impact to your customers. These acts of appreciation can have a lasting impression and foster loyalty.

Carrie: 9:34

Do you have products or services that can be improved based upon customer feedback? Most, if not all, brands can. So be sure that you're actively seeking feedback from your customers and use it to enhance your products or services and overall customer experience. Your loyal fans will notice, and those that aren't loyal yet will definitely notice as well. It really shows that you value their opinions and are committed to delivering an exceptional experience. So think about it. What simple surveys or systems can you put in place to gather information so that you can continually improve? Some freeways are using something like Google Forms. They are also paid services for this type of implementation as well, but if you don't have the bandwidth for this at the moment, make sure you put it on your calendar for future review, because this can really go a very long way to helping create and foster those loyal fans.

Carrie: 10:30

Even in customer, loyalty takes time and consistent effort. By implementing as many of these strategies as you can, you create a positive and lasting relationship with your customers. This leads to increased retention and loyalty for your online business. We covered a lot today in this short podcast episode, so let's do a quick recap of the areas you can look towards implementing for exceptional customer loyalty and retention. First off, we talked about exceptional customer service and how you can provide this. We also talked about and referred to previous podcast episodes on how to create a seamless user experience, so be sure to check those out. Like I said, we're going to link to those in the show notes. Also, creating a personal customer experience as well is great if you have the capacity to do so. Many email service providers, like the one that we recommend, a Webber, can help you really do this in an automated way so that it's not too onerous on you as a business owner. So be sure to check out the show notes for that link as well.

Carrie: 11:29

A loyalty program goes well beyond and above. It just really really helps you out. So, if you can't implement all of these obviously because there's quite a bit that we listed make sure this is one of the top three or four that's on your list. This is a loyalty program. Also, making sure you're engaging in social media. No one, like I said, likes to see a company post and forget and not comment back to any of their customers or fans who are asking questions or making comments And then encouraging reviews and testimonials from your customers and rewarding them, if possible whenever they do so, so that you're giving back to them for their time that they spent to give you a review or testimonial. Also offering relevant and regular content, such as blogs, podcasts and videos. So be sure to check out the linked episode for how to do the blog part, if you are not already doing that one, and also post purchase communication.

Carrie: 12:27

I really think this one is super important.

Carrie: 12:29

It really goes an extra mile that really not very many companies do.

Carrie: 12:35

So post customer communication that's kind of hard to say.

Carrie: 12:38

Post purchase communication is kind of hard to say.

Carrie: 12:41

So make sure that you're looking into ways that you can automate checking in with people whether it's a few days or a few weeks, depending upon your product or service, whatever would be appropriate for that checking in on them and making sure that they're happy with what they have, and you're going to find some genuine good feedback from that as well.

Carrie: 12:59

And then also going the extra mile What are these small gestures you can do? Maybe it's even picking one random order out of a month and sending a special surprise gift to them. You wouldn't have to be every single customer or you might delete this process, but going the extra mile for a handful of customers here and there can really help. And also having a system for customer feedback and implementation of it. So make sure you are also creating an easy way for your customers to give you genuine feedback so that you can use that and help improve your products and services. All right, that's it for this week's episode. We'd love to hear which of these tactics you utilize in your business and which ones you plan to implement, so drop us an email at podcast at bcsinjoneeringcom, or direct messages on socials as well, as always. thank you for joining us and I will see you next week.